SASKATOON – The clean-up process of a derailed train near Saskatoon’s Montgomery Place neighbourhood is ongoing. The derailment of five Canadian National (CN) Railway cars occurred near Viterra’s 11th Street West terminal around 1 a.m. Saturday.
No timeline has been given for how long the clean-up will take. In an email statement, a company spokesperson said that “clean up and repair work is underway and Viterra is working with all relevant parties to ensure it is done as safely and swiftly as possible.”
“Operations continue as per normal at Viterra’s Saskatoon grain terminal,” added the spokesperson for the Regina-based grain and oilseeds marketing and handling company.
MORE: Train derailment cleanup underway in Saskatoon
CN says no one was injured in the derailment and area residents are safe. A man who identified himself as a contractor told one onlooker at the scene Monday that the biggest public threat was people stopping on the side of the road to observe the aftermath.
A spokesperson for CN also stated that an investigation into the cause of the derailment is ongoing.
RAW VIDEO: CN cleaning up after train derailment in Saskatoon
The derailment has residents in the area worried, according to Saskatoon Ward 2 Coun. Pat Lorje.
“I had emails from people saying that was way too close to home, or thank heavens it was grain, not oil,” said Lorje, who lives in Montgomery Place.
“People are concerned.”
Lorje hopes the city will build a flyover crossing at the intersection of 11th Street West and Dundonald Avenue, where trains occasionally block off traffic. She also said reopening the level crossing at the south end of Dundonald would create an alternate route for residents to leave the neighbourhood.
“The people of Montgomery have no way of getting out of this community when 11th Street and Dundonald is blocked off by the trains, which happens so frequently,” said Lorje. “They’re blocked for periods of up to fifty minutes at a time. That could mean the difference between the life and death, right now emergency vehicles can’t easily get into the community.”
Watch below: Barb Biddle, president of Montgomery Place Community Association, explains the concerns residents of the area have over trains and how it affects traffic in the neighbourhood including emergency vehicles.
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