TORONTO – The CN Rail engineering employee who was killed on the train tracks in Pickering has been identified as 53-year-old Rick McColl of Hampton, northeast of Oshawa.
CN spokesman Frank Binder says McColl, who was struck dead by a VIA Rail train on Thursday afternoon, had worked for CN for 32 years.
Durham Region police say three people were working on the tracks just west of the Pickering station around 1 p.m. at the time of the incident.
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A joint investigation by Durham officers and CN Rail is still trying to determine why McColl was hit. The Ministry of Labour has also been notified.
The Thursday evening commute proved a long one for many heading east out of Toronto, as GO Transit suspended all trains from Pickering to Guildwood station for several hours.
Shuttle buses ran between those stations until train service resumed around 5 p.m.
VIA spokeswoman Ashley Doyle says 170 passengers and six crew members were on the train that hit McColl, which was heading from Montreal to Toronto.
Buses were ordered to fetch the stranded travellers, none of whom were injured.
“CN has asked employees to keep Rick, his family and colleagues in their thoughts and prayers,” Binder said Thursday evening.
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