Rail safety improving despite recent derailments, says expert
Rail traffic is actually getting safer despite a second train derailment west of Edmonton in two weeks, says a transportation expert.
While the public is hearing about derailments more now, the number of derailments has actually gone down over the last 10 years, says Barry Prentiss, who teaches at the University of Manitoba School of Business.
"Things are going in the right direction," he said.
There are about 400 derailments a year in Canada with half of those occurring away from the main lines, he said.
Shipping materials by train is still relatively safe, he said.
"I always ask people well what's the alternative — the railway moves a tremendous amount of goods and yes we have a few derailments every so often, but it's much safer than moving things by truck and of course we don't have many other alternatives," he said.
On Sunday 13 CN cars went off the tracks near Peers, west of Edmonton, spilling their loads of lumber.
Two weeks earlier, a CN train carrying oil products left the tracks 90 kilometres away at Gainford, followed by an explosion and fire that forced residents from their homes for days.
