Central Maine and Quebec Railway back in spotlight after weekend derailment
Last weekend's train derailment in the Eastern Townships — on the same tracks that carried the ill-fated freight train involved in the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster — has renewed concerns about rail safety in the region.
Six of the train's 45 freight cars derailed Saturday evening at a level crossing in West Bolton, 60 kilometres southwest of Sherbrooke.
"It's a very big worry," said West Bolton Mayor Jacques Drolet.
None of the cars contained dangerous goods, and no one was injured. However, Drolet said, the incident has revived concerns about the risks the rail line poses to people and the environment.
The incident happened close to a stream connected to the local water supply. And the mayor of Bromont, Louis Villeneuve, said there were propane tanks about 300 metres away from the site of the derailment.
Drolet and Villeneuve met Tuesday to discuss the derailment with the mayors of other municipalities along the line. They're all part of a newly formed coalition, the Alliance du corridor ferroviaire Estrie Montérégie (ACFEM).
In Quebec, CMQ runs from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in the Montérégie, east to Lac-Mégantic, near the U.S. border.
Drolet said the situation could have been much worse.
The same section of track is used by the Orford Express passenger train, which runs several times a week during the holiday season. That train sometimes has as many as 200 people aboard.
Bromont Mayor Villeneuve, who is AFCEM's president, is calling on both the federal and provincial governments to do more to make sure the tracks are safe, because municipalities don't have the power to act.
CQMR on the sale block
The federal Transportation Safety Board said the cause of the derailment is unknown.
Transport Canada recently flagged more than 250 defects on the rail line, owned by the Central Maine and Quebec (CMQR).
However, a ministry spokesperson, Émilie Simard, said in an email the CMQR ensured Transport Canada that it had fixed issues flagged by the ministry. She said the last visual inspection of the tracks was done on Sept. 9 and 10, and ultrasonic tests were done in October.
Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel visited the site of the derailment Monday and said Ottawa needs to ensure railways comply with safety regulations.
He said CMQR has done only the "strict minimum" to maintain the rail line, and future owners of the tracks would have to make serious changes.
CMQR has been owned by a New York investment firm since the bankruptcy of Montreal Maine and Atlantic in the wake of the Lac-Mégantic derailment and explosions, in which 47 people were killed. The company's president announced in late August that the railway is up for sale.
