Oil train derailment & fire — Timmins, Ontario 02-14-2015

[MEC407]

Kind of surprised this hasn't been posted yet.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Seven rail cars were on fire in northern Ontario after a train carrying crude oil derailed late on Saturday night, Canadian National Railway said on Sunday.

The train, heading from Alberta to eastern Canada, derailed shortly before midnight about 80 km (50 miles) south of Timmins, Ontario, a CN spokesman said. Canada's largest rail operator said 29 of 100 cars were involved and seven were on fire.

Source: http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticN ... S920150215" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MEC407]

From the Portland Press Herald:

The train’s tanks were a newer model – the 1232 – designed during safety upgrades voluntarily adopted by the industry four years ago. The same model spilled oil and caught fire in Timmins, Ontario on Saturday, and last year in Lynchburg, Virginia.
. . .
Just Saturday – two days before the West Virginia wreck – 29 cars of a 100-car Canadian National Railway train carrying diluted bitumen crude derailed in a remote area 50 miles south of Timmins, Ontario, spilling oil and catching fire. That train was headed from Alberta to Eastern Canada.

Source: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/02/18/w ... tank-cars/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(Note: diluted bitumen is commonly known as "tar sands" oil.)

So... the new "safe" cars aren't safe enough, AND it's not just Bakken crude that's causing problems...

[dowlingm]

According to VIA, CN have reopened the line and #1/#2 (Canadian) service resumes this weekend.

[Ken V]

.... and we have another one - close to the same location
http://www.ctvnews.ca/cn-train-carrying ... -1.2268703" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A CN freight train carrying crude oil derailed early Saturday in northern Ontario, causing at least 10 cars to jump the tracks.

Ontario Provincial Police said the derailment happened near Gogoma, Ont., around 2:45 a.m. Saturday morning, with some of the cars catching fire and others falling into the Mattagami River.

This is the third time in the past month that a CN train has gone off the tracks in northern Ontario.

On Feb. 14, 29 train cars derailed south of Timmins. In that incident, seven cars caught on fire, and Via Rail passenger trains were forced to cancel trips along the route from Winnipeg to Toronto.

Another CN freight train carrying crude oil or gasoline derailed Thursday about 100 kilometres east of Hornepayne, Ont., but there was no spillage in that incident.