New Transportation Safety Board of Canada measures aimed at increasing railway safety – including the creation of a process for increased information sharing with municipalities – are welcome news in West Central Alberta, says Mountain View County deputy reeve Patricia McKean.
The main CPR line runs right down the centre of Mountain View and Red Deer counties, passing through Carstairs, Didsbury, Olds, Bowden and Innisfail and surrounding areas.
Keeping municipalities informed about railway traffic on that line is vital to public safety, said McKean.
“For sure we have been calling for it (more information sharing) so that is good news,” said McKean. “We want to see that for our planning and road networks and for emergency responding. If we know what is happening we can plan for that.”
The county would like to be informed if hazardous materials are being transported through the county, she said.
“If there are potentially dangerous things, we'd like to know,” she said.
The Transportation Safety Board announced a number of new measures last week aimed at addressing concerns raised with rail transportation, and particular the movement of hazardous goods, following the Lac-Megantic, Que. derailment that killed more than 40 people.
The new measures include the following:
• Increasing oversight by recruiting additional staff to carry out more frequent audits and creating processes for increased information sharing with municipalities.
• Requiring railway companies to meet standardized requirements for hand brake application and put into effect additional physical defences to secure trains.
• Conducting further research on crude oil properties, behaviour and hazards and launching a targeted inspection campaign to verify the classification of rail shipments.
• Requiring certain railways, including short lines, to submit training plans to Transport Canada for review, and conducting an audit blitz of short lines to determine specific training gaps.
