EDMONTON – Seven cars of a CN train have come off the tracks east of Slave Lake, according to the Transportation Safety Board.
Slave Lake’s fire chief Jamie Coutts says a total of 25 cars were affected, but the ones that derailed were four engines and three boxcars.
Coutts, tweeted that the derailment happened near Mitsue, located about 14 kilometres east of Slave Lake. West Mitsue Road is now closed indefinitely.
No injuries have been reported but the fire chief says that there is a small leak of either oil, diesel or anti-freeze from one of the engine cars. However, CN and TSB say they are not aware of any leaks at this time.
TSB spokesperson Chris Krepski believes two of the cars were carrying sodium chloride and one was carrying sulfuric acid.
When Global News spoke to TSB officials, they were still deciding whether or not to investigate.
Coutts says he hopes they do.
On Wednesday, Edmonton MP Linda Duncan voiced her concern with “yet another derailment” in the Slave Lake area and the rising number across Alberta.
She said the government had taken some action to step up regulation of dangerous cargo after several major disasters, including Lac-Megantic and Wabamun, but that overall the rail sector remains self-regulated.
“While other industrial sectors now face some level of public scrutiny and risk assessment, the rail sector remains exempted from most controls,” said Duncan.
In May, a CN train derailed in a residential area of Slave Lake, just one block off the town’s main street.
READ MORE: Train derails in Slave Lake; emergency crews on scene
Six area homes were evacuated as a precaution. Residents in the area say they’ve been expressing concern about the tracks for years.
READ MORE: Questions being raised in Slave Lake over CN Rail bridge
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