Communiqués

TSB # R 13/96

(For release 20 September 1996)

(Hull, Quebec) - The investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) into the fatal collision between westbound Canadian National (CN) freight train No. Q117 and an eastbound string of 20 runaway cars near Edson, Alberta, at 2331 MDT on 12 August 1996, is continuing. The train collided with the runaway cars at Mile 122.9 of the Edson Subdivision approximately six miles east of the town of Edson. The two crew members and a non-railway employee on board the lead locomotive died in the accident.

The runaway cars had been placed on track No. 4, at Edson Yard, by a crew that was about to take over eastbound freight train No. 404. These 20 cars were to be attached to train No. 404 upon its arrival at Edson. Track in Edson Yard and the main tracks leading east slope down towards the east at a grade of between 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent for a distance of six miles to the switch at Mile 122.9.

All three locomotives and the leading four cars of the runaway string of cars were destroyed in the collision. Fire engulfed the lead locomotive. The event recorders on the second and third locomotives indicate that the train was travelling at approximately 55 mph and that, seconds prior to impact, the freight train was placed in emergency braking. The point of impact was just east of the switch point. The force of impact was such that the lead locomotive was thrown to the south and its fuel tank ruptured fuelling the ensuing fire. The second locomotive was thrown to the north and the third locomotive became buried in the track bed. Thirty-one of the following 73 cars making up train No. Q117 derailed, jacknifed and were heavily damaged. The investigation to date has found no evidence of mechanical failures on westbound train No. Q117.

The investigation is now concentrating on a number of areas including the effectiveness of the hand brake system on the grain hopper cars that were on the east end of the string of cars that ran out of track No. 4, the training and supervision of train crews and rail traffic controllers, the warning systems built into the centralized traffic control system in use on the Edson Subdivision and the effectiveness of Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR) rule 112 in guiding crews in securing cars.

Hand brake and truck components from the lead grain hopper cars in the runaway string have been sent to the TSB Engineering Lab for further tests.

Simulations have been carried out in Edson Yard to ascertain the minimum braking force necessary to hold a string of cars similar to those that rolled away on the night of the accident. Tests have also been carried out on the hand brake system on similar grain hopper cars as those involved in the accident in order to determine the amount of hand brake force available, establish the efficiency and effectiveness of the hand brake system on these cars, observe the methods employed by those operating employees who set the hand brakes, and determine the level of maintenance required to ensure proper operation of the hand brakes. Detailed analysis of the resultant data is underway.

The investigation has verified that the derail that once was installed at the east end of Edson Yard had been removed. Since the accident, CN has reinstalled derails in the yard.

The TSB will issue a public report upon completion of its investigation. However, the Board can also issue interim recommendations, at any time during the investigation, if any safety deficiencies are identified that pose serious risk to persons, property, or the environment.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is an independent agency operating under its own Act of Parliament. 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.

NOTE: This update is based on information assembled by investigation staff and may be amended as other facts are gathered. The analysis phase of the investigation is not complete and one should not attempt to infer findings as to the causes and contributing factors of the accident on the basis of this update. When the investigation team has all the necessary facts and has analyzed them, the Director of Investigations (DOI) will report them to the Board. The Board will consider the DOI's report and will, once it is satisfied that a thorough investigation and analysis has been completed, issue a draft report on the Board's findings and any safety deficiencies identified; that report will be sent on a confidential basis to persons with a direct interest in the Board's findings. Once these persons have had the opportunity to make representations, the Board will prepare and release its public report.

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