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Photo: Liesel/Wikimedia Commons
Undetected rail defects led to train derailment
Published: Fri, 2015-02-27 11:49-
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Took place in Gainford, Alberta, in October 2013
In its investigation report released recently, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) determined that numerous rail fractures led to the October 2013 derailment and fire involving a Canadian National (CN) train in Gainford, Alberta.
On 19 October 2013, a CN freight train, travelling from Edmonton, Alberta to Vancouver, British Columbia, derailed 13 cars in the siding at Gainford, Alberta. Two LPG tank cars were breached during the derailment and caught fire, and a third LPG car released product from its safety valve which ignited. About 600 feet of track was destroyed. A total of 106 homes in the vicinity of the occurrence were evacuated. There were no injuries.
The investigation determined that the train derailed when one or more rail breaks occurred in the high rail as the train travelled through the curve in the Gainford siding. Numerous defects were found along the length of the high rail in the curve. A rail flaw detection test through the area 2 months earlier had not identified these defects. In March 2013, the low rail had been replaced with a new rail that reduced the curve's superelevation. In this situation, more stress was placed on the high rail, increasing the risk of rail defect development and failure.
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