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 the following new order. Accordingly, pursuant to section 32.01 of the RSA, the companies listed in Appendix A are
hereby ordered to:
Section A: Speed Restrictions
- Subject to A2, not operate a Key train at a speed that exceeds 50 miles per hour (mph);
- Not operate a Key Train at a speed that exceeds 35 mph within Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs);
- From March 15th to 23:59:59 pm on November 14th
- not operate a Higher Risk Key Train at a speed that exceeds 30 mph within CMAs; and,
- not operate a Higher Risk Key Train at a speed that exceeds 50 mph outside of CMAs;
- From November 15th to 23:59:59 pm on March 14th, while in signaled territory,
- not operate a Higher Risk Key Train at a speed that exceeds 25 mph within CMAs and 40 mph outside of CMAs; and,
- not operate a Higher Risk Key Train at a speed that exceeds 30 mph when temperature is minus twenty five degrees Celsius (-25 oC) or below outside of CMAs;
- From November 15th to 23:59:59 pm on March 14th, while in non-signaled territory,
- not operate a Higher Risk Key Train at a speed that exceeds 25 mph within CMAs; and,
- not operate a Higher Risk Key Train at a speed that exceeds 25 mph outside of CMAs.
Section B: Requirement for Continuous Welded Rail Joint Management
- Develop and adhere to a maintenance and inspection plan for permanent joints (joints at fixed locations by design such as bridges or crossing) and temporary rail joints (joints added in the track for maintenance purposes) which includes the following elements.
- requirements for the frequency and methods of inspection;
- time limits for the retention of temporary joints until permanently repaired; and,
- record keeping requirements regarding the precise location, date of installation, date of inspection and date of removal of each temporary joint in continuous welded rail.
- The plan shall be filed with Transport Canada by the first of September every calendar year, starting on September 1st 2020.
Section C: Requirements Regarding Installation of Replacement Rail
- Ensure replacement rail is ultrasonically inspected and free from rail defects prior to being put in service;
- When ultrasonic inspection of the replacement rail cannot be done prior to installation, a speed restriction must be put in place and approved by a professional engineer, in the case of a Class 1 railway company or, in any other cases, approved by the engineer; and,
- Ensure that the speed restriction remains in place until the rail is ultrasonically inspected.
- Keep records for a minimum of one year indicating
- the date of the ultrasonic inspection whether prior to or after being put into service; and,
- the location where the replacement rail is installed.
For the purpose of this order,
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"Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs)" means population centers 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.
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"Key Train" means an engine with cars:
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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
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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.
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"Higher Risk Key Trains" means an engine with cars that include loaded tank cars carrying crude oil or liquefied petroleum gases, as defined in the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, in a continuous block of 20 or more tank cars or 35 or more tank cars dispersed throughout the train.
This order is effective immediately except for sections B and C above that come into effect on September 1, 2020. This order will remain in effect until the Minister approves revised Rules Respecting Key Trains and Key Routes that incorporate the above measures on a permanent basis.
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 May 2, 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