Three Dangerous Canadian National (CN) Train Derailments Explode in Alberta in One Week
Derailments Caused Explosions, Petroleum Spills and Hazardous Conditions for Railworkers All Over The Province
An epidemic of Canadian National (CN) train derailments is ongoing in the province of Alberta. At least three dangerous train derailments have taken place within the span of one week in the province. Several years ago, CN vowed to repair its rails through Alberta by committing $612 million, which would likely prevent such disasters, but apparently they were just joking.
Railworkers in Canada are also suffering from the same disastrous systems and working conditions as railworkers in the U.S., which can and do lead to mistakes, injuries, death and other rail disasters. A string of CN rail conductor deaths occurred between 2018 and 2022.
In November 2019 and June 2022 the Teamsters and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), respectively, rail workers went on strike, demanding better wages and benefits, better scheduling, and better working conditions. About 750 CN signal and communication workers walked off the job across the country in June 2022. In response, CN planned a massive strikebreaking operation with reduced crews— which received the full support of the Teamsters union, as CN forced conductors and engineers to cross picket lines.
More than 3,000 Teamsters Canada members walked out on strike in November 2019, which halted shipments and disrupted industries across the country. The strikers were fighting to end the company’s harsh and unsafe work and scheduling practices. These practices have resulted in a litany of worker injuries, health problems, intrusive management surveillance schemes, train accidents and the almost complete elimination of any normal home life for CN workers. Rail workers in Canada have warned for years against the growing dangers of chronic fatigue. While employees are given their schedules in advance, last minute changes to shifts can mean long days and nights on the job with little rest in between. Some shifts can last as long as 42 hours, workers report.
The Teamsters union ended the strike after reaching a tentative agreement that wasn’t disclosed to workers until several weeks later. The dirty deal abandoned most if not all of workers’ key demands.
Three derailments and collisions have occurred in Alberta, Canada in the span of just one week in August this year, following on an April CN derailment in Strathcona County east of Edmonton which happened at about 6 a.m. east of Edmonton where seventeen cars derailed.
On Tuesday morning, August 8, two Canadian National trains collided west of Wainwright, Alberta Global News reports. No injuries were reported.
CN, in a statement to Global News, said two of its trains “came into contact with each other, resulting in several derailed rail cars in various positions.” The railroad said no dangerous goods were involved, no fires were reported, and there was no risk to the local community.
Photos from the scene show at least two derailed locomotives as well as derailed double-stack and hopper cars. Wainwright Fire Chief Aime Smyl told Global News at least seven cars were derailed, and that some fuel had leaked as a result of the accident.
The cause is under investigation. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it had been notified of the incident and was “gathering information to assess the occurrence.”
Wainwright is about 125 miles east of Edmonton on CN’s Wainwright Subdivision.
On Thursday, August 10, a truck driver was hit by a train on Highway 14 in Viking, Alberta. Viking is located roughly 130 kilometers southeast of Edmonton.
Witnesses told RCMP the crossing arms were down at the time.
An observer was alerted to the incident when he noticed the train horn which is unusual, as it normally passes through the area with blowing its horn. The witness observed the semi shot around the front of the train, saw the contact, and watched it slide down the tracks until it stopped.
The cab of the truck was ahead of the engine of the train and the train hit the trailer and then just skidded. An ambulance arrived at the site but left without taking the driver away.
Later on Thursday, the train was stopped, blocking the highway.
On Friday morning, August 11, a Canadian National (CN) train derailed near Whitecourt, Alberta when it collided with a petroleum fuel truck.
RCMP and Alberta Sheriffs contained the scene that morning and asked the public to avoid the area — out of caution of possible explosions — and to find an alternate route.
Witnesses reported observing the tanker leaking fuel, and that the ground was on fire. The RCMP said one person sustained minor injuries, but there were no fatalities.
In a statement RCMP say they “anticipate being on scene for most of the day while emergency crew respond and police investigate.”
As of 4:23 p.m., Whitecourt RCMP said crews would begin clearing the scene, adding that the fire had been extinguished.
The crisis of capitalism forces workers to continue working under dangerous and unsustainable conditions when inevitably accidents and death will occur. CN and other rail companies rake in billions of dollars in profit each year, while creating these unsustainable working conditions. The answer is for the workers to form rank and file committees and take the rail systems into their own hands to be managed in a human scaled, planned manner that mandates providing human services as its goal, rather that profit as the goal.