Train - hazardous cargo "accident"

[3930dave]

Meant to include the body of the text..... D.

MONTREAL - A report into a runaway train incident, similar to what happened in Lac-Megantic, Que., warned of unclear rules governing train braking on steep grades along Canadian freight lines.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) report was issued seven months before a crude-oil train barrelled down a slope and exploded in Lac-Megantic, killing 50 people and flattening the centre of town.

Eighteen months earlier, in December 2011, an iron ore train had gone out of control on a slope in Doree, Que., near the Labrador border.

The 112-car freight train reached speeds of 101 km/h, coming to rest only when the track levelled out.

The TSB blamed faulty air brakes and suggested a minimum number of brakes that should be applied on each car to secure a train parked on steep inclines.

Without specific instructions that take into consideration local conditions, there is a risk of underestimating the number of hand brakes required to secure a train on a steep grade and preventing it from running away, the TSB said.

The CEO of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA), whose train exploded in Lac-Megantic, has said engineer Tom Harding might have failed to properly set the train's brakes.

It had been parked in Nantes, Que., 12 km uphill from Lac-Megantic, hours before it began moving, rolled into town and derailed, setting off an explosion.

Former MMA employees have accused the railway of shoddy maintenance and lax security.

MMA insists it has strict safety procedures, but the company gave pink slips to 19 Quebec workers this week, and a union official says several of the laid-off staff were in charge of maintenance and inspections.

Meanwhile, CP Rail said Thursday that it's tightening its safety regulations in the wake of the Lac-Megantic disaster.

Spokesman Ed Greenberg said the Calgary-based railway strengthened brake-setting procedures last week.

The country's other large railway, CN, told QMI Agency that it's reviewing safety procedures in the wake of the tragedy.

Spokesman Louis Antoine Paquin said CN trains have multiple safety defences including backup braking systems on all locomotives.

Also on Thursday, Toronto law firm Rochon Genova LLP said a class-action application by Lac-Megantic victims has been expanded to include New Brunswick oil giant Irving Oil, World Fuel Services Corp. and Dakota Plains Holdings.

The suit claims the oil firms failed to ensure that the highly flammable contents of the DOT-111 tankers that derailed were properly contained and safely transported.

 

[tcartwri]

TSB said this morning that an insufficient number of hand brakes were applied.

There were some internet musings floating about this week on just how long it would take one person to set 30 hand brakes in the dark at the end of their shift. It was something on the order of 90 minutes.... think that's really happening???

 

[3930dave]

No legislation, no meaningful enforcement, under-manned trains, lax maintenance.

Quebec alone, 2 major incidents in 2 years. Actually, it's a bit surprising that there haven't been more.

Rgds, D.

 

[Scooby074]

TSB said this morning that an insufficient number of hand brakes were applied.

There were some internet musings floating about this week on just how long it would take one person to set 30 hand brakes in the dark at the end of their shift. It was something on the order of 90 minutes.... think that's really happening???

If the 90 min figure is correct, absolutely not. This highlights the dangers of 1 man crew. A single man gets tired, sloppy etc. and with nobody there to help out or call him on his sloppiness (or be partially to blame when something goes wrong) stuff like this can happen.

Anything public safety related (trains, airplanes etc.) should never be one man crewed.

 

[3930dave]

If the 90 min figure is correct, absolutely not. This highlights the dangers of 1 man crew. A single man gets tired, sloppy etc. and with nobody there to help out or call him on his sloppiness (or be partially to blame when something goes wrong) stuff like this can happen.

Anything public safety related (trains, airplanes etc.) should never be one man crewed.

Well said Scooby. Try our best, we've all had days when we are not 100%.

And... this being Canada, what about Winter ? I don't know the details of these mechanical Ebrakes, but if it's anything like manual track switches, in the dead of Winter, you'll need one guy running a roofing torch, and another guy swinging a sledge to deal with iced up mechanisms.

Rgd, D.

 

[Scooby074]

I read this in the (print) paper yesterday.

TSB report questioned train braking on slopes | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

I really wish my rantings about defanged govt oversight simply just moved me up the ranks of the Tinfoil Hat crowd, but this clearly illustrates how toothless the TSB is. "....questioned..." in the title says it all.

They "issued a report" about a similar 2011 runaway train/brake failure accident. Likely it never even got read at MMA.

I was thinking this morning "The fines alone should be X million dollars...." . The problem with that approach is that it could cripple a start-up company that truly does encounter a one-in-100-million accident.

Then it came to me - make the fine 1% of Gross Annual Sales. The penalty scales and it's significant for all companies. Make it Gross Sales, to get away from the alchemy the CFO pulls off when a corporation pays no taxes for decades.....

For 1 Billion in domestic Sales, you risk $10 million dollars in fines. THAT might be enough to keep Safety on the CxO's top 5 list.

Maybe.

Scooby - looks like Irving is now named in the class-action application.

Rgds, D.

Excellent. I like your idea for the fine set at 1%.

But if I know irving, they'll find a way to weasel out of it, it's what they do! I know of one group of building owners who had property contaminated by an adjacent irving fuel depot.$100,000's of thousands of dollars in loss. Irving is throwing everything at them, from "it wasnt our oil" to "it was caused by a now defunct company" .. pretty much everything. And its been going on for over 10yrs now!! They keep motioning for adjournment for various reasons. Its what they do! They stall, delay, write letters etc etc until you just give up. Remember they have a whole floor of nothing but lawyers in St. John, who are on salary, that need things to do.. while the other people involved have to PAY their lawyer every time Irving writes a letter, or requests more information or go to court etc.etc. with their stall tactics. Eventually it just becomes so expensive to hold on, its just not worth it.

Sort of related, Irving dumped Pt. Lapreau's 2 new turbines into S. Johns harbour back in 2008.. A $40,000,000 screwup. Siemens sued. Still unsettled (AFAIK) with irving trying to pass the buck to anyone involved. Even trying to limit damages to a mere $500,000 under some Marine Liability clause. Irving sued for turbine rotor harbour plunge - New Brunswick - CBC News

 

[3930dave]

Rich (expletives) tend to assume that abusing the peasants is their birthright. In many cases, Irving being a stellar example, they are correct.

I always remember my Mom, when we used to vacation down East. She, herself, would have pushed a car to another station, rather than pay money for Irving gas. She wasn't that into physical work, it's just that Irving has that affect on people.

Re. Siemens, here's hoping that one of my favourite lines from Gran Torino works out "Ever notice, that once in a while you come across somebody ya shouldn't have ****ed with ?". Siemens has plenty of money and lawyers, and no sense of humour about chit like that.

Rgds, D.

 

[Cub 7274]

One man 11 handbrakes would have not been a problem except the lead locomotive caught fire the fire dept shut it down and from there on it was all downhill.
Rules are great until something happens then they aren't good enough and changes are made.
They parked that train for months and months Locomotives worked,brakes held and everything was fine until................

 

[Scooby074]

Rich (expletives) tend to assume that abusing the peasants is their birthright. In many cases, Irving being a stellar example, they are correct.

I always remember my Mom, when we used to vacation down East. She, herself, would have pushed a car to another station, rather than pay money for Irving gas. She wasn't that into physical work, it's just that Irving has that affect on people.

Re. Siemens, here's hoping that one of my favourite lines from Gran Torino works out "Ever notice, that once in a while you come across somebody ya shouldn't have ****ed with ?". Siemens has plenty of money and lawyers, and no sense of humour about chit like that.

Rgds, D.

Irving is a "big" player down here, but compared to Siemens they are a speck on the radar. Siemens could squash them like a grape, but as these things go, it will likely never get to court if Irving has the sense to realize that "Ze Germans" wont take this one lying down like the other companies irving has bullied.

 

[3930dave]

Siemens prefers to keep a low profile. Agreed - while Irving is used to being a Northern Pike in a small pond, Siemens is a Great White Shark in comparison.

Unfortunately, Supply and Demand still prevails though..... if Ottawa ever did to decide to play rough (even just for the cameras), I'm sure the response would be something like "Keep pushing, and we'll shut the refinery down for 3+ months for "Unscheduled Maintenance" - we've got the money to wait a lot longer than that". No politician wants to initiate a gasoline shortage on the eastern half of the continent.

I'd like to see Suzuki dedicate a whole Nature of Things episode to Irving's environmental record. Given Irving's pull in Ottawa though, I expect that the CBC has been muzzled on that subject. I'm sure that the examples you cite Scooby are just the beginning of a long list.

I understand the Irving legacy down East, but this is banana republic stuff going on here. Sad to see this being condoned by the government of an "advanced G8 country", in the 21'st century.

Siemens should win their case, they have deep pockets and discipline. Settlement on the oil/MMA suit with Irving - that's going to be a long way off, if ever.

Rgds, D.