The runaway freight train that caused one of the deadliest railway accidents in Canadian history in Lac-Mégantic in 2013 had passed four safety inspections, documents cited in the Québec Superior Court show.
The safety checks conducted before the train’s final trip were documented in an Agreed Statement of Facts submitted by lawyers for Canadian Pacific Railway, insurers, and others, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.
“The defendant Canadian Pacific has no legal responsibility for this tragic accident,” Justice Martin Bureau wrote.
The tragic wreckage occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013, when an unattended Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway (MMA) freight train carrying Bakken Formation crude oil derailed downtown, causing explosions and fire in multiple tank cars, destroying a major part of the town and claiming 47 lives.
It was “one of the worst railway tragedies in Canadian history,” the Superior Court said. The accident occurred on a railway owned and operated by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
The freight train originally carried 78 cars of petroleum from North Dakota and was en route to an Irving Oil Ltd. refinery in Saint John. From its departure on June 30, 2013, in North Dakota, the train received a safety inspection which included removing one tank car for mechanical defects, reported Blacklock’s.
A second inspection was conducted July 4 by Department of Transport staff in Toronto. On July 5, five CPR employees conducted another safety inspection in Montréal and removed five tank cars due to defects.
A fourth inspection was completed July 5 at Farnham, Quebec. Minor defects were “immediately corrected on site,” the court document said.
However, the train, when left unmanned for the night at Nantes, Quebec, gradually lost pressure in the air brakes on the lead locomotive, sending the train rolling 12 kilometres downhill to Lac-Mégantic.
Aftermath
The disaster contributed to the bankruptcy of the MMA, which at the time was carrying a $25 million liability coverage, the legal minimum under federal law. Claims against the railway were $250 million. A Lac-Mégantic settlement fund totalled $430 million.The lone engineer was acquitted of criminal wrongdoing and received $237,188 in a 2019 wrongful dismissal claim, according to Blacklock’s.
The disaster prompted numerous railway safety reforms, including a ban on one-person crews freighting hazardous goods, the elimination of puncture-prone tank cars, and higher minimum insurance coverage by railway companies. Parliament amended the Canada Transportation Act to raise minimum insurance requirements for railways shipping oil tank cars to up to $125 million or more, according to Blacklock’s.
