REGINA – Co-op Refinery has confirmed that a rail car full of asphalt rolled away from the refinery toward downtown Regina earlier this week.
Brad DeLorey, the director of communications at Co-op Refinery, said that the incident took place on March 2 around midnight.
According to DeLorey, the rail car was being loaded at the refinery and was intended for a western destination. The runaway rail car travelled about four kilometres through the city, crossing a number of streets, along federally-regulated tracks owned by Canadian National Railway (CN).
Andrew Swenson, a spokesman for the Co-op Refinery Complex, says no one was hurt in the incident.
DeLorey says the rail car was handled by Cando Rail Services, a private sub-contractor of the Co-op Refinery Complex. The rail car was travelling on tracks owned by CN.
Cando Rail Services also released a statement, saying at 11:54 p.m. on March 1, it realized a rail car under its direction was not properly secured on the rail car. Cando employees saw the rail car begin to move and secured it under 15 minutes without incident.
Cando says the rail car was returned to the CN yard and there were no damages. The company then notified the Transportation Safety Board and CN.
The provincial Highways Ministry says they are aware of the incident but are leaving the investigation to the federal level as the incident occurred on a federally regulated rail line.
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Co-op is working with regulators from the Ministry of Environment on the investigation.
Both Cando and CN are also conducting an investigation looking at a number of possible causes, including human error. Cando is reviewing its safety procedures.
Co-op Refinery has suspended its contract with Cando until an investigation is complete.
“We have suspended their contract and they won’t be conducting work at the refinery until the investigation is finalized and we are able to review the results,” Swenson said Friday.
CN said it has stopped Cando crews from operating on its rail network pending a review of the company’s operating procedures and safety practices.
The organization also released the following statement:
“CN takes the incident very seriously and immediately halted CANDO crews from operating on our network as the incident is investigated and as CN, working with Transport Canada, thoroughly reviews CANDO’s operating procedures and safety practices,” – Kate Fenske, CN media and community relations manager.
Cando said it supplies specialized railway support services to industry and the rail sector at 18 industrial sites across Canada.
On Friday, The Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information to determine whether to begin a formal investigation.
Board investigator Jerry Berriault said Cando staff were involved in switching cars at the refinery when the car started to roll down a slight incline.
“It was sitting by itself and left the plant and there is a slight downhill grade from that plant toward Regina, so that is what propelled the car on its own.”
Berriault said the safety board will look at how the rail car was secured and if there were mechanical issues.
Rail lines usually have a mechanism called a derail to prevent cars from rolling, but crews usually remove the device during switching operations when they are moving cars on the tracks, he said.
Transport Canada said Friday it is gathering information about the incident to verify compliance with the Canadian Rail Operating Rules. Should non-compliance be found, Transport Canada said it would take appropriate enforcement action.
Transport Canada also said that while controlled movements of rail equipment have occurred in the past, they are not aware of any prior incidents at this specific location.
Meanwhile, both Mayor Michael Fougere and Regina Fire Chief Ernie Polsom held a press conference together acknowledging that neither the city nor the fire department were notified of the incident.
Mayor Fougere said he found out about the incident from media reports Friday morning.
Regina Police have also said they will be launching an investigation into the communications involving a call that was received the night the incident occurred.
With files from John Cotter, The Canadian Press, and Alexa Huffman
A previous version of this story said that Cando Rail Services was a private sub-contractor of CN. Cando Rail Services is a sub-contractor of the Co-op Refinery Complex.
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