The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its investigation report (R19W0002) into a collision involving two Canadian National Railway (CN) freight trains near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
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As a result of the investigation, the Board is issuing two recommendations to Transport Canada.
First, the Board recommends that Transport Canada require all major Canadian railways to expedite the implementation of physical fail-safe train controls on Canada’s high-speed rail corridors and on all key routes.
“The United States has fully implemented a positive train control system on all high-hazard track required by its federal legislation. This includes the U.S. operations of both CN and Canadian Pacific, which have invested significantly in their locomotive fleets and infrastructure,” said TSB Chair Kathy Fox.
“The railway industry must act more quickly to implement a similar form of automated or enhanced train control system on Canada’s key routes to improve rail safety and avoid future rail disasters.”
Second, the Board recommends that Transport Canada require Canadian railways to develop and implement formal crew resource management (CRM) training as part of qualification training for railway operating employees.
On 3 January 2019, eastbound CN freight train 318 collided with the side of westbound CN freight train 315 just east of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
At 0610, train 318 departed Rivers, Manitoba towards Winnipeg, Manitoba. At about 0730, westbound train 315 departed Winnipeg. Both trains were operating on the Rivers Subdivision, one of CN’s busiest routes which frequently transports dangerous goods.
Just under 3 hours later, while proceeding on the south track using Trip Optimizer (a system similar to cruise control on a car), train 318 passed a signal at Mile 52.2 indicating to the crew that they should be preparing to stop at the next signal, located at Mile 50.4 at Nattress.
The conductor called out the signal as required, but did not hear the locomotive engineer (LE) verbally respond and the train continued at track speed.
Soon after, the head ends on train 318 and train 315 passed each other, and train 318’s conductor reminded the LE of the previous signal. The LE then applied the train brakes. However, as the Stop signal indication at Nattress came into view, the crew recognized that they would not be able to stop in time and applied the brakes in emergency.
Shortly after train 318 collided with the side of train 315 at 23 mph (37 km/h), the crew jumped from the train, sustaining minor injuries. The two head-end locomotives on train 318 and eight cars on train 315 derailed as a result of the collision.
This accident highlights major issues in the rail industry and reinforces TSB’s call for physical fail-safe train controls for over two decades through recommendations R13-01 and R00-04.
Following this occurrence, CN distributed a System Notice throughout its Canadian operations warning train crews that there was an increase in occurrences where train crews failed to stop at signal indications requiring them to do so, primarily due to a lack of focus on situational awareness. ■
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