CN train derailment in New Brunswick prompts debate for pipelines

Another violent and destructive derailment of a cargo train carrying crude oil across the Canadian landscape – this time in northwestern New Brunswick – could further impact the ongoing debate over pipeline projects across North America.

CN Rail officials are currently surveying a derailment in northwestern New Brunswick, where a train carrying propane and crude oil slipped off the tracks Tuesday night and exploded in a sparsely-populated area.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said an undesired emergency brake application was the cause of the derailment near the Wapske, N.B. A total of 17 of 122 train cars slipped off the tracks and burst into flames, some of which contained gas and crude oil.

The explosion prompted the evacuation of about 150 people near the crash site. No injuries have been reported.

[ Related: CN to do surveillance of derailment to determine source of fire ]

"My first words would be to apologize to the citizens of Plaster Rock for the inconvenience," CN Rail president Claude Mongeau said at a Wednesday press conference. "The fire is our first priority at the moment. Dealing with it, we have the equipment, we have the people and we have all of the procedures in place to deal with it in a safe manner."

Part of the load of crude oil and propane was headed from Toronto to an oil refinery in Saint John, N.B., prompting memories of the 74-car derailment in Lac-Megantic, Que., last July that left more than 40 people dead and the town's core demolished. That train was also destined for the Saint John Irving Oil Refinery.

The deadly derailment launched a debate over the transport of crude oil, with pipeline advocates pointing to such disasters as proof that a change is needed. The rail industry has experienced a boom in oil and gas deliveries in recent years as western oil deposits are developed and the need to export increases.

The Canadian Railway Association recently said that an estimated 140,000 carloads of crude oil were expected to cross Canada over the course of 2013. As recently as 2009, that number was only 500 carloads.

[ More Brew: Tempers flare at bogged-down Pearson Airport ]

Debate continues to surround several pipeline projects, including the Northern Gateway project through Canada and TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline between Alberta and Texas, which awaits approval from the U.S. government.

Alex Pourbaix, TransCanada's president of energy and oil pipelines, hinted previously that the Keystone XL project would help avoid incidents similar to Lac-Megantic from happening in the future.

According to the Washington Post, Thomas E. Donilon, a former national security adviser to President Barack Obama, endorsed the Keystone XL project on Wednesday. The White House has not said publicly whether it will support the cross-border project, but a decision is expected later this year.

Canada, meantime, seeks its own long-term strategy for transporting oil. The rail industry says that 99 per cent of all trip end without incident. But those that don't end well can end in disaster. And with the number of trips increasing, there is a danger more derailments can occur.

It happened in Lac-Megantic and now it has happened in northwestern New Brunswick.