Lac-Mégantic residents launch legal action demanding repairs to railway
A group of residents from Lac-Mégantic, Que. will seek an injunction to block the transport of dangerous goods in the region, unless defective rails identified in a recent Transport Canada report are immediately repaired.
The Lac-Mégantic Citizens' Coalition for Rail Safety sent a legal letter this week to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau as well as Transport Canada official Jean-René Gagnon.
In May, Gagnon told Central Maine and Quebec Railway (CMQR) it had to fix 253 rails, some of which were in the area where the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred six years ago.
Transport Canada told CBC News Thursday evening that it has received notice from CMQR that the 253 rails have been repaired. The ministry said it is now in the process of verifying the state of the tracks.
It said that a speed limit of 10 miles per hour will remain in place on certain stretches of the railway until the ministry completes its own inspections of the damaged rails.
'Real danger'
The group is appealing to the government because it "no longer trusts rail companies like CMQR", said coalition spokesperson Robert Bellefleur. He compared the Maine-based company to Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, which operated the railway in 2013 when a train carrying crude oil derailed and rolled into Lac-Mégantic's downtown.
The resulting explosion and fire destroyed the centre of the town, killing 47 people.
"We consider there is a real danger of a derailment for the population of Lac-Mégantic and of the Eastern Townships," said Bellefleur.
The legal warning comes just weeks after a minor derailment in the region, in the nearby town of Nantes, where a single wagon went off the tracks.
That derailment did not cause any injuries or spills.
Central Maine and Quebec Railway has not responded to a request for an interview from CBC News.
