Above the rails by Henry Ford Street in Vaudreuil-Dorion is a sign in French, appealing to the conductors of the Canadian Pacific trains that roll past to “remember Lac-Mégantic” and slow to a speed of 55 km/h. It’s a sign the city put up itself in an effort to exert some influence over rail safety.
Mayor Guy Pilon is frustrated that more wasn’t done in the wake of the deadly Lac-Mégantic disaster just over 5 years ago. With St-Polycarpe being just a stone’s throw away, “I was very upset,” he told Global News. Vaudreuil-Dorion is a fast-growing region, a Montreal bedroom community.
Pilon’s main concern is that, even though no one was injured, there was minimal spillage and there was no fire as a result of the St-Polycarpe derailment, that was in farm country. Vaudreuil-Dorion, on the other hand, saw its population triple in 10 years.
“Even if nothing spills, a train like that when it derails can create a lot of trouble, especially if you’re in an urban zone,” he said. CP wrote in an email it has reopened the tracks that were previously closed, and is still investigating the cause of the derailment.
The workers’ “focus will be on safety as work progresses,” a spokesperson wrote Global News.
Comments