Several cars came off the tracks in south Edmonton after a train derailed across Ellerslie Road on Friday.
A spokesperson for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said crews received a call that eight cars had derailed at around 2:25 p.m. They arrived on scene shortly after with nine crews, including a HAZMAT unit.
Watch below: A big cleanup is underway in south Edmonton after a train derailed in the area of Ellerslie Road and 101 Street Friday afternoon. Sarah Kraus is on scene with the details.
As of 3 p.m., HAZMAT confirmed that nothing was leaking and left the scene and Edmonton police said there was no threat to public safety.
Three fire crews remained on scene to help with the cleanup.
No injuries were reported.
Edmonton police closed Ellerslie Road to traffic between Parsons Road and Gateway Boulevard in both directions. Police expected it to be “some time” before the road could reopen.
Christian Dube said he witnessed the derailment and that he found it surprising because trains don’t travel very fast through the area.
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“I was shocked, really, to see that there,” he told Global News. “Now how many people are going to have to divert? This is one of the really busy accesses at rushhour. I feel sorry for the area. It’s going to be stopped for a while.”
CP Rail sent a crew to the scene as well.
“We immediately dispatched personnel and equipment to the site to begin the process of cleaning up the derailed cars,” spokesperson Andy Cummings said in a statement. “Our focus will be on safety as we begin this work.”
Cummings added CP takes the incident “very seriously.”
It is not clear when the train cars will be removed or when the closed portion of Ellerslie Road would reopen.
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