UPDATE (Jul, 8, 2013 – 2:26 p.m.) – The YouTube user told Global News via email that the train uses this stretch of the track to park.
“En soirée, le train arrive, se stationne et on voit un taxi venir chercher le conducteur du train pour le ramener vers la ville (Lac-Mégantic) Je suppose qu’il part dormir dans un hotel ou quoi que se soit du genre. Ensuite, le train reste là, le moteur en marche sans surveillance la nuit entière,” said the user.
Rough Translation: “In the evening, the train arrives, parking and sees a taxi pick up the train driver to take him back to the city (Lac-Mégantic) I guess he goes to sleep in a hotel or anything at all like that. Then there is the train, the engine running unattended all night.”
The user said the video was taken around 2:30 p.m. on July 7, but noted they did not know how long the train had been left unattended.
Global News has confirmed that Quebec’s Provincial Police Sûreté du Québec are looking into the incident.
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TORONTO – A video reportedly showing an unattended train left idling just kilometres away from the disaster zone at Lac Megantic has gone viral, raising more questions about the safety of Canada’s railways.
The YouTube video – uploaded by the user “Cobratann” – shows the inside of the abandoned train car, panning back and forth between the unlocked door of the first car and the length of the train. When the camera man pans away from the train car, the audio clearly reveals the sound of an idling engine.
“You can see inside, there’s no one there,” the videographer says in French at one point.
The videographer also notes during the video that the train had been idling for several days – according to a translation.
The video, which has gone viral since being posted on Reddit, is dated July 7 – a day after a runaway train carrying tanker cars full of crude oil exploded near the town of Lac-Megantic, Que.
Five people have been confirmed dead and about 40 are believed to be missing since the blast; however, authorities caution that the death toll is likely to rise.
Global News contacted the YouTube user to get more information about the video.
The user, who wished to remain anonymous, did not reveal the location of the train, but noted that the location was about three or four kilometres away from Lac Megantic.
“Tout ce que nous voulions, c’est démontrer les faits, un message d’intérêt publique que tout le monde doit savoir… soit une sécurité douteuse malgré la tragédie encore tellement récente,” the user told Global News via email.
Rough translation: “All we wanted was to demonstrate the facts public interest message that everyone should know … is a dubious safety despite still so recent tragedy.”
The user also noted that the police are looking into the incident.
“Les policiers sont allés constater les faits suite à notre vidéo et le nécessaire sera fait. Ils cherchent et peut-être ont-ils même trouvé les responsables,” said the user.
Rough Translation: “Police are confirming the facts related to our video and what is necessary is being done. They are looking for, and perhaps have found, those responsible.”
In a second video uploaded by the same user, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) can clearly be seen on the first train car.
The train that exploded in Lac Megantic Saturday was also an MMA train.
Global News contacted the MMA for comment regarding the YouTube video of the idling train, asking what their protocol surrounding leaving trains unattended is and if they are looking into the incident.
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