The Transportation Safety Board of Canada Releases Report into the February 2011 Main-Track Derailment of a CN train in Fort Fraser, British Columbia

GATINEAU, QC, April 24, 2012 /CNW/ - The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) today released its final investigation report (R11V0039) into the derailment of a Canadian National (CN) train in Fort Fraser, British Columbia. The report is available on the TSB website at www.tsb.gc.ca.

On February 12, 2011, a CN Coal Train was travelling westward on the Nechako Subdivision at about 45 mph when it experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application near Fort Fraser. The investigation found that the L2 wheel on one car had failed catastrophically and a total of 36 cars had derailed, from the 43rd car to the 78th car inclusively. The wheel fractured when a crack, which had been growing over a period of time, reached such a size that the wheel could no longer support normal service loads.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

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