‘Too early’ for TSB to remove transport of flammable liquids by rail from watchlist, says Lac-Mégantic MP

Five years after the catastrophic Lac-Mégantic rail disaster that killed 47 people, the Transportation Safety Board has removed the transportation of flammable liquids by rail from its watchlist, but the MP who represents the devastated town says he thinks the decision was made too soon. The TSB watchlist is a list of "key safety issues" that need to be addressed to make Canadian transport safer. During a press conference on Oct. 29, TSB chair Kathy Fox announced the removal of transport of flammable liquids by rail from the most recent edition of the watchlist. Ms. Fox told reporters when risks are "sufficiently reduced" the issue is removed from the watchlist. Oil transport by rail is on the rise in Canada. Due to delays in pipeline construction, the International Energy Agency said in a report in March that the transportation of oil by rail in Canada could jump from 150,000 barrels a day in 2017 to 250,000 in 2018, and 390,000 a day in 2019. The report estimated it could peak at 590,000 barrels a day in 2019 if oil producers don't resort to crude shortages in peak months. At the same time as oil is increasingly being transported by rail, derailments are spiking. From January to September, there have been 83 derailments in Canada. There were 67 derailments between those same months in 2017, and an average of 63 between 2013 and 2017, according to the TSB. “I think it was too early for them to remove the ,” said Conservative MP Luc Berthold (Mégantic-L'Érable, Que.) in an interview last week. Mr. Berthold, who was first elected federally in 2015, said the TSB needs to closely monitor the case to make sure railway companies and the government achieve their intended targets. There are currently 18 active rail safety recommendations from the TSB that have yet to be fully acted on, some of which date back to the late 1990s. The Quebec Federation of Municipalities has asked Transport Minister Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que.) to intervene and stop the removal of rail transport of flammable liquids from the watchlist. However, the TSB is an independent organization and isn't under the authority of Mr. Garneau. The Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Committed to Rail Safety in Lac-Mégantic have also called for the reversal of the removal, according to Sherbrooke's La Tribune newspaper. In September, Transport Canada expedited the phase-out of rail cars that are less crash-resistant. Originally planned to be phased out in April 2020, the phase-out of unjacketed (meaning there's no layer of thermal protection) CPC 1232 tank cars that transport crude oil was bumped up to Nov. 1. The CPC 1232 tank cars are a slightly enhanced version of the DOT-111 cars that were involved in the Lac-Mégantic derailment. DOT-111 rail cars were barred from carrying crude oil in 2016, three years after a 74-car train derailed in downtown Lac-Mégantic. In the early 1990s, the TSB issued a report that stated they were not safe to carry dangerous goods. Conservative MP Luc Berthold, who was the mayor of a nearby town in 2013, said everyone in his region knows someone who had a friend or family member killed in the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Transport Canada has also expedited the phase-out of unjacketed CPC 1232 and DOT-111 railcars that transport other highly volatile flammable liquids from April 30, 2025 to Jan. 1, 2019. Mr. Berthold said governments have improved many things since the 2013 disaster, and noted he was “really happy” with the announcement of the Lac-Mégantic bypass to keep trains out of the community's downtown—scheduled to be completed by 2022—but he said there is still much to be done. “You know that I'm a Conservative, usually I'll want to go after the government for everything, but not on this thing,” Mr. Berthold said. “This thing must be well done, and I think some things need more time to be addressed.” But he added he wants to see the government address some of the TSB recommendations that have remained ignored and he wants to see quicker action than is currently being shown. NDP MP Robert Aubin (Trois-Rivières, Que.), his party's transportation critic, said in an email, “While we can applaud the minister's decision to go ahead with the complete withdrawal of DOT-111 wagons, it is important to note that, on the substance of the problem, Transport Canada is losing more and more oversight and decisional power over companies’ operations.” Michael Gullo, a spokesperson for the Railway Association of Canada (RAC), said in an email, “the rail industry advocates for the safest means of containment for transporting dangerous goods in Canada and supports the phase-out requirements.” Mr. Gullo said that railways don't own the “vast majority of tank cars,” and “therefore ... not directly responsible for the phase out,” but “RAC members will be compliant with the new requirements and have measures in place to ensure that cars moving across their networks are compliant.” Michael Bourque, president of the RAC, has previously stated on the public record that the rail industry's success rate at clearing TSB recommendations is close to 90 per cent, which he said is the best success rate compared to all transportation modes. Recovery for Lac-Mégantic still ongoing: Berthold When the explosion erupted in the early morning of July 6, 2013, Mr. Berthold was the mayor of Thetford Mines, Que., about 80 kilometres north of Lac-Mégantic. “We all know someone who knows someone who died in this tragedy,” said Mr. Berthold, adding that he didn't know anyone who died, but knew people who had friends and family members killed. “We didn't believe that something could happen.” Due to inadequate braking, the 74-car train, which was parked in Nantes, Que., started to roll down the 1.2 per cent grade (sloped) track towards Lac-Mégantic. Its sole crew member had left for a hotel less than two hours before. As the train headed downhill towards Lac-Mégantic, it picked up speed, reaching a top speed of 105 kilometres per hour, triple the typical speed for the area. It ultimately derailed in downtown Lac-Mégantic at around 1:15 a.m., spewing six-million litres of crude oil, causing an earth-shattering explosion and fire. Forty-seven people were killed—ages ranging from four to 93—in the worst rail disaster since Confederation. At a local hospital, a “code orange” was called, Bruce Campbell, former executive director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, wrote in his new book about the crash, but the hospital remained “eerily quiet.” After the derailment, a local parish priest, Steve Lemay, went to the hospital. He said, “I went to the hospital to try to help with the wounded,” Mr. Campbell writes in The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied, “We kept waiting, and the longer we waited, the more it became clear that there would be no injuries, only death.” Each time a train travels through downtown Lac-Mégantic's many railway crossings, and its horn roars, it conjures memories of the disaster. “Each and every time” and “each and every night” those who lived through the tragedy hear the horn and remember, Mr. Berthold said. “The downtown is not yet rebuilt,” he said, adding the recovery is still ongoing. 'Door is still open' for another Lac-Mégantic-like catastrophe, says Campbell Mr. Campbell said the increase in volume of oil being transported by rail, mixed with the increase of train runaways, sends “warning signs” about a potential future disaster. “To think it couldn't happen again would be foolhardy, and to not take the precautions, I think, would be unwise,” he said in an interview with The Hill Times. To think a rail tragedy couldn't happen again would be 'foolhardy,' says Bruce Campbell. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Flanked by Mr. Aubin, Bloc Québécois MP Monique Pauzé (Repentigny, Que.), and representatives from the Lac-Mégantic Victim Coalition told reporters on Oct. 4 in Centre Block that the “door is still open” for a repeat of the Lac-Mégantic disaster. For Mr. Aubin, there's concern about the lack of progress made in addressing rail crew fatigue. “Train-driver fatigue is a perfect example of the laissez-faire that is prevalent in the industry. Everyone agrees on the problem, but Transport Canada isn’t doing enough,” he said in an email. “It is leaving the safety of Canadians in the hands of the industry, even though big rail companies have proven in the past that they are not able to self-regulate and meet the required standards.” Marie-Anyk Côté, a spokesperson for Transport Canada, said in an email that the ministry is “taking additional steps to address fatigue in the railway industry.” Mr. Garneau called rail safety his “No. 1 priority” during Question Period on Oct. 22. In November 2017, Transport Canada published a note of intent outlining its proposed approach to include “up-to-date fatigue science in current requirements.” The TSB first introduced fatigue-management systems for rail crews in its 2016 watchlist, which identifies key safety issues, and TSB officials highlighted improved fatigue systems as a key concern in the board's 2018 watchlist during a press conference on Oct. 29. Independent Senator Rosa Galvez (Bedford, Que.) called the Lac-Mégantic disaster “a big, huge lesson” from which Canada has to learn “as much as possible.” “, we transferred the responsibility of the government to the transporters and the rail companies,” Sen. Galvez told The Hill Times in an interview in her East Block office last week. “That was putting them in conflict of interest because what they want is to reduce the costs, but then we are giving them the responsibility to themselves.” Before her senatorial life, Sen. Galvez was an engineering professor at Laval University, and authored a study on the oil spill that occurred due to the Lac-Mégantic derailment. Mr. Gullo said the railway industry is not self-regulated and stated in an email: “ RAC believes that Canada benefits from a robust safety regime that includes strong regulatory oversight and enforcement by Transport Canada, overlain and complemented by corporate-level safety management systems; and an efficient and responsive rule-making capacity, with such rules subject to ministerial approval.” Liberal MP Ken Hardie (Fleetwood-Port Kells, B.C.), who has been a member of the House Transportation Committee since 2015, said he didn't think anyone has given the people of Lac-Mégantic the confidence they need to guarantee that rail transport is as safe as it needs to be. He added that the “visible sight” of more rail inspectors could help ease people's concerns. But he said the transportation of oil by rail is safe in Canada. “Does it mean it's absolutely fail-proof or fool-proof? No, it's not,” said Mr. Hardie, adding there's always a risk of an incident. Mr. Berthold said it isn't really a concern for him that a similar disaster could happen again, but nothing is certain. He said it was a confluence of factors in 2013 that led to the disaster, and the chance of having all those happening again, “is very, very low.” nmoss@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

‘Too early’ for TSB to remove transport of flammable liquids by rail from watchlist, says Lac-Mégantic MP

The Quebec Federation of Municipalities and the Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Committed to Rail Safety in Lac-Mégantic have called for the reversal of the removal, according to Sherbrooke's La Tribune newspaper.

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‘Too early’ for TSB to remove transport of flammable liquids by rail from watchlist, says Lac-Mégantic MP

The Quebec Federation of Municipalities and the Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Committed to Rail Safety in Lac-Mégantic have called for the reversal of the removal, according to Sherbrooke's La Tribune newspaper.

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