News

Jul 19, 2023

'Undesired' air brakes release led to rail crash in Spiral Tunnel: TSB

The release of air brakes resulted in the derailment of a train carrying dangerous goods in B.C.’s steep Spiral Tunnel a month before another accident in the same area killed three CP Rail workers,

The release of air brakes resulted in the derailment of a train carrying dangerous goods in B.C.’s steep Spiral Tunnel a month before another accident in the same area killed three CP Rail workers, said a federal agency.

On Jan. 3, 2019, a 159-car CP Rail train, including 13 cars containing dangerous material, was en route to Port Coquitlam, B.C., from Calgary and descending Field Hill in Yoho National Park when crews were alerted to a train-initiated undesired release (UDR) of its air brakes, says a report issued July 19 by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

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The locomotive engineer then followed proper rules by bringing the train to a halt, but the sudden deceleration led to heavy cars in its rear to collide with empty cars ahead, resulting in the derailment of 15 empty carriages in the upper section of the Spiral Tunnel, says the TSB investigation.

No one was injured in the crash, but the incident occurred just a month prior to the derailment of another train — also involving questions surrounding air brakes, in the Spiral Tunnel that led to three fatalities.

In the earlier crash, the TSB said the same train had experienced UDRs six hours before the accident, a situation that occurs when an automatic brake release results from a spontaneous increase in the air pressure in its pipe.

“The decision to proceed after the first UDR likely did not take into consideration the risks associated with potential high in-train forces should another UDR occur, especially on the steep descending grade and sharp curves of Field Hill,” the TSB report said.

The agency also said CP Rail failed to comply with general operation instructions, “which states that heavy cars must be placed as close as possible to the head of the train and light cars should be placed as close as possible to the rear unless the cars behind them are also relatively light.”

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Those heavy-loaded cars, it said, had been placed at the train’s rear in preparation for it arriving in Golden, B.C., on the other side of the Spiral Tunnel near Field.

In the derailment the following month, crew members Andrew Dockrell, Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer and Dylan Paradis were killed when two locomotives and 99 cars of the westbound CP train derailed while heading down the steep inclines of the spiral tunnels east of Field, B.C.

“The investigation found that the brake cylinders on the freight cars were leaking compressed air, a situation made worse by their age and condition and exposure to extreme cold temperatures over time,” stated a TSB report issued March 31, 2021.

In unveiling that report, TSB chair Kathy Fox said shortcomings in CP Rail’s culture of safety also led to the tragedy that unfolded in an uncontrolled run of doomed train 301-349 that lasted a terrifying three minutes.

Inadequate training, aging brakes in freezing conditions and the failure to use hand brakes contributed to the derailment of a runaway grain train, the TSB found.

“Year after year (crew members’) reports were closed, no risk assessments were conducted and insufficient corrective action was taken,” said Fox.

CP Rail vehemently denied those findings, saying it “demonstrated that its Safety Management System contains all of the necessary elements as required by regulations. CP’s safety hazard reporting procedure was effective, both in form and in execution,” the company said in a statement.

“There were no systemic hazards that were not appropriately addressed.”

In December 2020, it was revealed RCMP had launched a criminal investigation into the crash after at least one former member of the Canadian Pacific Police Service and some of the victims’ family members accused the force of a cover-up.

In the latest TSB report dealing with the non-injury derailment, the federal agency noted CP Rail had issued an alert to inspect certain train cars and carry out needed repairs as well as reviewed train make-up while operating west of Calgary.

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Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

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