Detour routes have been set up to continue with the transportation of customers’ shipments, following the Sunday derailment of a Canadian Pacific Railway train.
“We have acknowledged there will be some temporary delays at this time, but railway officials are working directly with customers to address shipping requirements,” said Ed Greenberg, a spokesperson for CP, in an email.
At approximately 9:50 am EDT on Sunday, June 2, a northbound freight train derailed east of Sudbury near Wanup.
There were no injuries as a result of the incident. Environmental experts were immediately deployed to the site and continue working closely with community first responders.
The train was travelling over a rail trestle bridge spanning the Wanapitei River at the time of the incident.
CP said a preliminary investigation has identified that one of the rail cars experienced a sudden and unexpected wheel bearing failure which caused the rail car to derail just prior to the bridge. The derailed car then struck the bridge causing a larger derailment and further infrastructure damage.
Twenty-four intermodal containers were involved in the incident, some entering the river as a result of the derailment. On Monday, four remained in the river. Crews were working to recover these last containers.
CP said it has an extensive network of electronic wayside train inspection systems. One of the primary types of detectors examines the temperature of each rail car’s wheels. This train passed by nine of these detectors on its route toward Sudbury. Each of these detectors showed that all wheels and bearings were operating at a normal and acceptable temperature. There was no indication of any bearing problems. The two detectors closest to the incident site were inspected Sunday and verified to be working as intended.
According to CP, the incident could be compared to a properly maintained and serviced passenger vehicle that showed no dashboard alarm indicators prior to experiencing a blown tire. In this same way, the incident at Wanup was also undetectable.
CP crews and local responders are continuing work to remove the cars from the river, assess the situation and determine the scope of required repairs. Officials are also working on identifying the types of consumer products within the containers involved in the derailment. Preliminary inspection indicates there are no materials or products of concern to the public or environment.
CP continues its investigation along with local authorities and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
