EDMONTON – A CN train carrying lumber and dangerous goods derailed early Sunday morning west of Edmonton.
CN Spokesperson Patrick Waldron says 13 cars — 12 carrying lumber and one carrying sulphur dioxide — came off the tracks around 1:00 a.m. It happened east of Highway 32 in Yellowhead County, near Peers, AB, which is about 175 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Waldron says the car carrying sulphur dioxide is sitting upright and is not leaking.
The train — carrying 137 cars — was headed east from Prince George to Edmonton.
No one was injured in the incident and Waldron says there is no threat to the public or the environment.
Yellowhead County’s deputy fire chief has been in contact with CN and was on scene to assess the incident. However, Yellowhead County firefighters were not requested for assistance by CN as there was no fire or other immediate safety concerns for nearby residents, CN said.
CN crews are on site to determine what caused the train to come off the tracks.
“CN crews have been on site overnight, through the morning and into the afternoon, responding, beginning to clean up and undertaking a comprehensive investigation into what happened,” Waldron said.
“As of this hour, the rail line remains closed as crews continue their cleanup and their investigation,” he said shortly after 1:00 p.m. MST Sunday.
The mayor of Yellowhead County says he has been in direct contact with CN, but says the situation could have been a lot worse.
“Anytime a derailment happens, you’re concerned about it. The very good thing that happened in this one- there was no loss of life, it wasn’t a major incident where we had to shut down highways or evacuate the Hamlet of Peers,” Gerald Soroka said Sunday.
Soroka says members of the community are being informed of the situation on the County’s website, but says he hasn’t heard concern from any residents.
The derailment comes just 15 days after a train carrying petroleum crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas came off the tracks near Gainford, AB.
The site of Sunday’s derailment is about 85 kilometres west of the Gainford site. Waldron said Sunday’s derailment happened on the same rail line as the one two weeks ago.
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