Buckled track blamed for 2022 train derailment in Bassano, Alta.

View from the north side of the main track, looking west, showing the second derailed car rolled on its side and, further in the distance, the first derailed car, which remained upright and coupled to the head end of the train. (Source: Canadian Pacific) (Bhandari, Uttam)

A trail derailment involving 41 Canadian-Pacific (CP) freight cars near the community of Bassano, Alta., in 2022 was caused by a section of worn-out track, officials said Wednesday.

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The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released its report into the derailment that occurred on July 13, 2022, near the centre of the community.

It said 41 hopper cars, loaded with grain, derailed.

“Thirty-nine of the derailed cars were breached and spilled grain on the ground in varying amounts. There were no dangerous goods involved, and no fire was reported. No one was injured,” the TSB said.

The crash destroyed the main and siding track in the area of the derailment and damaged the nearest yard track.

A fibre-optic line, which runs parallel to the track, was also damaged.

The repairs included 3,450 feet of main track, 1,440 feet of siding and 1,000 feet of adjacent yard track between Mile 97.3 and Mile 97.9 in the Brooks subdivision.

Surrounding track in poor condition

In its investigation, the TSB found while the east-end main-track switch at Bassano had been replaced in September 2021 and all of the equipment at that location was in “excellent condition,” it was a different story on either side of the replaced track.

“The track further to the east, and to the west between the newly installed switch and the east end of the section of track destroyed by the derailment, showed signs of deterioration,” the TSB wrote.

Some of the damage included contaminated and worn crushed rock ballast, worn ties, rail creep in anchors and spikes, lifted spikes and missing or loose anchoring.

Work was done days before derailment

The TSB said that five days ahead of the derailment, a CP track supervisor conducted an inspection at Mile 97.41, where a July 7, 2022, inspection discovered two urgent defects in the track.

“The supervisor placed a 10 mph temporary slow order, and a plan was made to install 15 ties, non-consecutively, over 200 feet to break up clusters of defective ties. The ties were installed that same day, and the track was surfaced.”

On July 10, 2022, the TSB said 580 anchors were installed over 500 feet of track at Mile 96.6.

The temporary slow order was increased to 25 mph that day, then cancelled entirely on July 11, 2022.

A day later, the TSB said another inspection was conducted and “no evidence of rail movement was observed.”

Changes in train load contributed to derailment

The TSB said that the increased volume of freight trains, as well as their length, also played a role in the Bassano derailment.

“Train tonnage increased year-over-year from 2018 to 2022” in the Brooks subdivision, the TSB noted.

The number of westbound unit trains (loaded with grain and potash) peaked at 1,328 in 2020 and by 2022, there were 818 westbound trains on the tracks.

However, the tonnage per unit of those trains was 21,091.

“Longer and heavier trains, therefore, have a more significant and compounding deterioration effect on the track infrastructure in general,” the TSB said.

Investigation into the derailment

On July 13, 2022, the train was westbound at 44 mph on the Brooks subdivision.

“Video from the lead locomotive showed no obvious signs of a pre-existing track anomaly. However, when the mid-train locomotive passed by Mile 97.4, there was a noticeable side-to-side sway in the recorded image, indicating a track anomaly at this location.”

That observation, the alignment issue at the same location and the history of track conditions all support the TSB determination that the track buckled under the train.

Safety measures taken by CP

The TSB said CP made a number of changes to address safety issues related to the derailment, including:

Track renewal program work;

Amended engineering managers' safety accountabilities;

Noting all locations in its digital track network that must be restressed pending final repair; and

Additional training for supervisors in charge of track inspection.

CP also issued two safety bulletins, one to help with maintenance and another to provide instructions on speed restrictions when maximum rail temperatures are expected to be above the preferred rail laying temperature for a period of 24 hours.