CALGARY- The CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway has stirred up controversy, following remarks he made about how emergency responders acted during a major train derailment.
Last September, eight cars carrying a diluting agent jumped the tracks near Inglewood, forcing six of them to overturn. A number of surrounding roadways were shut down as a result, and 12 businesses and 142 homes had to be evacuated while first responders tried to determine what was inside the cars.
However, during a chat with investors on March 12, the CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway criticized the actions of those who were at the scene.
“I went to the derailment. And first thing I see is 90 first responders. You know where they are? In the trailer, drinking coffee and donuts,” said E. Hunter Harrison. “So I went right past them, right past the TSB, right past everyone, crawled under the cars, went right to the point of derailment.
“Not that I’m any genius but I’ve done this before. I figured out the problem in about eight minutes.”
He went on to say that he talked to an inspector, who had “no idea about the components of a switch.”
“I walked by their trailer and I said ‘you want to know the cause?’ The inspector looks at me, and I said ‘here’s the cause, here’s the location, here’s the time, and if you want to go back home you can.’”
Those remarks come following criticism by Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who says rules requiring rail companies to provide information about the dangerous goods they’re transporting don’t go far enough to protect emergency crews.
READ MORE: Mayor furious about delay determining contents of spilled railcars
The information is not required to be passed on in advance, which Nenshi said doesn’t help in an emergency situation.
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