LOCATION: National
ISSUE/SOURCE: Summary of rail safety and security oversight and outreach
DATE May 2025
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
- Transport Canada (TC) is committed to enhancing the safety and security of the rail industry in Canada.
- TC develops and enforces regulations aimed at reducing the risk of accidents and threats to Canada’s railway network and operations, providing for the safety of Canadian communities and travelers. These efforts support economic growth and strengthen supply chain resilience within Canada and cross-border with the United States.
- The Department administers and oversees a robust rail safety and security regulatory regime. This includes conducting approximately 40,000 rail safety inspections and 1,000 rail security inspections every year.
- The Department works closely with partners to advance safety outcomes in the rail industry, including railway companies, labour unions, provincial, territorial and municipal authorities, and counterparts in the United States.
- TC is continuously strengthening and modernizing regulations and rules to improve safety and security in the rail industry. This includes:
- lowering operating speeds in metropolitan areas for trains carrying dangerous goods;
- strengthening train securement requirements to reduce the risk of uncontrolled movements;
- mandating the use of locomotive voice and video recorders;
- working with industry on enhanced train control that uses advanced technologies and automated safety measures to reduce risks from human error
- requiring thicker steel on cars carrying flammable material; and
- introducing new rules around brakes, fatigue management and hours of duty and rest, and fire risk mitigation.
- Rail accident rates have improved over the last decade. The Transportation Safety Board reported 896 railway accidents in 2024, which is a 10% decrease from the five-year (2019-2023) average. These include fatal and non-fatal incidents that railway companies must report to the Transportation Safety Board such as derailments, trespassing fatalities, and collisions with vehicles at road crossings.
- The safety and security landscape in rail is undergoing changes due to technology, economic trends, and decarbonization. Technological innovations such as smart driver assist technologies represent an opportunity to improve safety outcomes.
- Since 2013, TC has increased its total number of rail safety oversight personnel by 42% (from 107 to 155).