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Second Irving company, New Brunswick Southern Railway, charged over oil shipments

The Saint John Courthouse.
The Saint John Courthouse. Ross Lord/Global News

New Brunswick Southern Railway (NBSR), a subsidiary of J.D. Irving, is facing 24 charges around the transport of oil.

The charges allege that NSBR failed to create proper shipping documents and had unqualified personnel for shipments of crude oil.

According to Transport Canada, the violations occurred between Nov. 3, 2012, and July 5, 2013.

READ MORE: Irving Oil ordered to pay $4M for violating safety standards in transporting crude oil

The allegations follow another Irving company’s guilty plea to similar charges in Saint John last week.

Transport Canada’s  investigation began after the disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Que. when rail cars, on their way to the Irving refinery, blew up killing 47 people.

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Transport Canada says the violations did not contribute to the explosions.

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But investigators discovered that rail cars at the scene did contain substances that were more dangerous than classified on their shipping documents.

WATCH: The anatomy of the Lac-Mégantic train disaster

Click to play video: 'The anatomy of the Lac-Mégantic train disaster'
The anatomy of the Lac-Mégantic train disaster

They also found that staff were not properly trained in classifying shipments; something that could leave first responders vulnerable to leaks or derailments more dangerous than expected.

Unlike the other set of charges, which were concluded in a single court appearance that wasn’t listed on a public docket, there’s no settlement yet in this case.

“NBSR takes very seriously the issue of rail safety,” J.D. Irving said in a statement. “We cooperated fully with the Canadian regulatory authorities at the time of the investigation. We are currently reviewing these charges which relate to the movement of empty tanker cars.”

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An Irving Oil lawyer told the court last week, the company has completely overhauled the way it transports dangerous goods.

The company is due in court Nov. 27.

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