Dear Sir /Madam:
Over the past 12 months, there have been three derailments of crude oil trains. These derailments have resulted in the breach of tank cars leading to fires and, in some cases, evacuation of local citizens. This situation is of significant concern to Transport Canada.
As such, and in the interest of safe railway operations and as a precautionary measure, please find attached an Order issued pursuant to section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act for your action. This Order requires all railway companies and local railway companies listed in Appendix A to implement the safety measures identified in the attached Ministerial Order.
If you intend to initiate a review of the Order, you must file a request in writing with the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada, no later than March 9, 2020.
The Tribunal has prepared a Guide for Applicants, which may be obtained from the Tribunal's Registrar at the address below. Requests for review must be filed at the following coordinates:
The Registrar
Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada
333 Laurier Avenue West, Room 1201
Ottawa ON K1A 0N5
Pursuant to section 32.3 of the Railway Safety Act, an order issued under section 32.01 of the Act shall not be stayed pending a review requested under section 32.1, an appeal under section 32.2, or a reconsideration by the Minister under subsection 32.1(5) or 32.2.(3) of the Act.
Should you have any questions, please contact Ms. Brigitte Diogo, Director General, Rail Safety at 613-998-8697 or brigitte.diogo@tc.gc.ca.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
The Honourable Marc Garneau, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Transport
Attachment
c.c.
Mr. G. Doherty, TCRC-MWED Ms. L. Cyr, TCRC-MWED Mr. L. Couture, IBEW
Mr. K. Neumann, USW Mr. T. Lundblad, USW Mr. C. Crabtree, ATU
Mr. S. Pickthall, IAMAW Mr. D. Ashley, TCRC Ms. L. Robillard, TCRC
Mr. B. Snow, UNIFOR Mr. E. Féquet, TUT
MO 20-02
Whereas section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act (RSA) provides that if the Minister considers it necessary in the interests of safe railway operations, the Minister may, by order sent to a company, road authority or municipality, require the company, road authority or municipality to stop any activity that might constitute a threat to safe railway operations or to follow the procedures or take the corrective measures specified in the order, including constructing, altering, operating or maintaining a railway work.
Whereas there have been a number of recent derailments of trains transporting dangerous goods which have resulted in the breach of tank cars and the release of dangerous goods, including the St-Lazare derailment in Manitoba in 2019, the Guernsey derailment in Saskatchewan in 2019 and the second Guernsey derailment in Saskatchewan in 2020.
Therefore I consider it necessary in the interest of safe railway operations to make an order pursuant to section 32.01 of the RSA. Accordingly, companies listed in Appendix A are hereby ordered to:
(1) Not operate a Key Train at a speed that exceeds 20 miles per hour within Census
Metropolitan Areas or, in all other locations, at a speed that exceeds 25 miles per hour.
This order is effective on February 8, 2020 and remains in effect until March 9, 2020.
For the purpose of this order,
Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) means population centres defined and published by
Statistics Canada as core (i.e., at least 50,000 persons) and secondary core (i.e., at least
10,000 persons) of CMAs.
Key Train means an engine with cars:
a) that includes one or more loaded tank cars of dangerous goods that are included in
Class 2.3, Toxic Gases and of dangerous goods that are toxic by inhalation subject to
Special Provision 23 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations; or
b) that includes 20 or more loaded tank cars or loaded intermodal portable tanks containing
dangerous goods, as defined in the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 or any
combination thereof that includes 20 or more loaded tank cars and loaded intermodal
portable tanks.
Pursuant to subsection 32.1(1) of the RSA, a person to whom an order is sent under section 32.01 of the RSA may, on the date specified in the order, file a request for a review with the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (Tribunal).
If you intend to request a review of this Order, you must file a request in writing with the Tribunal, which must be postmarked no later than March 9, 2020.
Pursuant to section 32.3 of the RSA an order issued under section 32.01 of the RSA shall not be stayed pending a review requested under section 32.1, an appeal under section 32.2 or a reconsideration by the Minister of Transport under subsection 32.1(5) or 32.2.(3) of the RSA.
The Honourable Marc Garneau, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Transport
Date
Appendix A
9961526 Canada Limited
Arnprior Nepean Railway Co. Inc.
Battle River Railway NGC Inc.
Big Sky Railway Corp.
BioPower Sustainable Energy Corporation
BNSF Railway Company
Boundary Trail Railway Company, Inc.
Canadian National Railway Company
Canadian Pacific Railway Company
Cando Rail Services Ltd.
Canfor Pulp Ltd. – Northwood Division
Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway Ltd.
Cargill Limited – Cargill Limitée
Carlton Trail Railway Company
Central Maine and Quebec Railway Canada Inc.
Central Manitoba Railway Inc.
Chemin de fer de Québec-Gatineau Inc.
Chemin de fer Québec North Shore & Labrador
Chemin de fer Oxford Express Inc.
Chemin de fer Sartigan
City of Ottawa carrying on business as Capital Railway
Compagnie du Chemin de fer Roberval-Saguenay
CSX Transportation, Inc.
Eastern Maine Railway Company
Essar Steel Algoma Inc.
GIO Railways Corporation
Goderich-Exeter Railway Company Limited
Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd.
Great Sandhills Railway Ltd.
Great Western Railway, Ltd.
Hudson Bay Railway Company
Huron Central Railway Inc.
Kamloops Heritage Railway Society
Keewatin Railway Company
Kettle Falls International Railway Company
Knob Lake and Timmins Railway Company Inc.
Koch Fertilizer Canada, ULC
Lake Line Railroad Inc.
Last Mountain Railway
Maska-Wa Transportation Association Inc.
Metrolinx
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
Nipissing Central Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway Company
Ontario Northland Transportation Commission
Ontario Southland Railway Inc.
Pacific & Arctic Railway Navigation, British Columbia & Yukon Railway, British Yukon Railway doing business as White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR)
Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.
Port Stanley Terminal Rail Inc.
Prairie Rail Solutions Ltd.
Prudential Steel ULC
RaiLink Canada Ltd.
Railserve Inc.
Réseau de transport métropolitan
RIO Tinto Alcan
RTC Rail Solution Ltd.
Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie
Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society
Southern Rails Co-operative Ltd.
Southern Railway of British Columbia Limited
South Simcoe Railway Heritage Corporation
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (Québec) Inc.
St. Paul & Pacific Northwest Railroad Company, LLC
Stewart Southern Railway Inc.
The Essex Terminal Railway Company
The Toronto Terminals Railway Company Limited
The Vintage Locomotive Society Inc. O/A Prairie Dog Central Railway
Thunder Rail Ltd.
Torch River Rail Inc.
Trillium Railway Co. Ltd.
Trillium Railway Co. Ltd. (Port Colborne Harbour Railway)
Transport Ferroviaire Tshiuetin Inc.
Union Pacific Railroad Company
VIA Rail Canada Inc.
West Coast Express Limited
West Coast Railway Association
York-Durham Heritage Railway