Cold weather and brake failure led to fatal 2019 train crash: TSB
An investigation into a deadly 2019 locomotive derailment near Field, B.C. has found the train's aging brakes failed due to cold temperatures.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its extensive, long-awaited report on Thursday. It goes into great detail about what happened the morning three Canadian Pacific Railway employees were killed on the job.
Those findings also come with safety recommendations that look to improve the working conditions of CP's machines.
Investigators say one of its trains was parked on a grade near the Alberta-B.C. boundary in February 2019, when it started rolling on its own.
At one point, as it travelled downhill, it reached a speed of 85 km/h, far above the limit for the mountain pass.
It eventually derailed at a curve in the tracks, where 99 grain cars and two locomotives plummeted off a bridge.
Three men on board were killed including conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell and trainee Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer.
REPORT'S FINDINGS
The safety board said its findings show an inbound train engineer had warned the trainmaster of brake system irregularities, but they were not seen as problematic.
In fact, Dockrell had prepared a safety report about the dangerous stretch near Field just one day before he died.
"(CP has) been receiving reports for several years," TSB regional manager Dan Holbrook said. "It was a recurring issue, and yet there wasn't sufficient action taken to prevent it from reoccurring."
"It's obvious that more needs to be done to reduce the risk to railway employees and the Canadian public, reduce preventable loss of life and increase the safety and resilience of this vital part of the Canadian supply chain," added TSB chair Kathy Fox. "The safety hazard report (Dockrell) had prepared about the event was recovered from the accident site, but he never had the opportunity to submit it."
The investigation also accuses the trainmaster's training and experience of not adequately preparing him to evaluate the circumstances or to make on-the-fly emergency decisions.
The TSB's report says brake cylinders on the freight cars were leaking compressed air and, worsened by their age and condition and extreme cold, reached a critical threshold before giving out.
Temperatures reached -28 C on the evening of the crash.
TSB BOARD'S THREE RECOMMENDATIONS
The TSB board has since made multiple recommendations to Transport Canada to enhance the safety of train operations in cold weather. They include a requirement to install automatic parking brakes on cars — a third option that can be used to slow out-of-control freight.
Another recommendation asks companies to establish enhanced testing standards for brake cylinders operating on steep grades in cold temperatures.
The third and final TSB recommendation suggests CP demonstrates a stronger safety management system that is able to identify hazards.
REACTION FROM DYLAN PARADIS' FAMILY
But the family of Dylan Paradis aren't satisfied.
Pam Fraser, Dylan's mother, tells CTV News she's worried about the very nature of the investigation.
"It doesn't bring me more closure," she said. "The report can only make recommendations. (The TSB) has no power to make them actionable. So while they may be good, there is no historical evidence that they will be implemented."
The derailment started an ongoing criminal investigation by the RCMP.
The families of two of the victims filed a lawsuit last April alleging negligence against Canadian Pacific, its CEO, board of directors, CP police and the federal minister of transport.
They accuse the rail company of cutting corners to make more money, while ignoring basic health and safety.
CP disputes that claim.
Thursday, the TSB board acknowledged "multiple factors" led to the crash, but its investigation pointed the finger multiple times and problems with CP's approach.
"We can't undo what's happened," Fox said, "but what we can do is make recommendations so these sorts of things don't happen again"
CP has removed the involved cars from service since the crash.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.