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Rail line reopens after CP Rail train derailment near Banff

A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train derailed west of Banff, at about 2 a.m. on Friday, December 26th, 2014. Jenna Freeman, Global News

CALGARY – A damaged rail line has reopened near Banff after a train derailment over the weekend.

Fifteen cars on a westbound CP Rail train left the tracks early Friday morning carrying lentils and fly ash, as well as debris, into 40 Mile Creek.

WATCH BELOW: Aftermath footage of CP Rail train derailment near Banff

Parks Canada says the railway bridge has been replaced with a temporary structure until a new one can be built.

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READ MORE: Cleanup continues after CP Rail train derailment near Banff

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It has also set up a cofferdam downstream, made from rocks and fabric from the crash site, in the hopes of slowing the flow of spilled fly ash downriver.

Fly ash is toxic to marine life, but Parks Canada says the high levels of fly ash and turbidity detected immediately following the crash have since dropped off.

WATCH BELOW: CP Rail train derailment near Banff being investigated 

The agency has set up monitoring stations downstream in the Bow River and says tests show some of the material has already entered the river, though at low levels.

There are three or four more days of cleanup left at the crash site, as well as several months of work following spring breakup.

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