Over a year after a train derailed and its oil-filled tanker cars burst into flames and exploded, ravaging the Quebec town of Lac Mégantic and killing 47, the Transportation Safety Board finally offered some answers Tuesday with the release of its final investigation report.
The board released Tuesday its final report detailing the train’s path from a nearby clearing and into the small Quebec town after brakes gave out as the locomotive’s sole engineer slept in a nearby motel. When the train crashed into town at about 1:15 a.m. it sent thick crude spilling into local waterways and streets and fireballs ripped through Lac Mégantic’s downtown, which was largely reduced to rubble.
Over the past year, official investigations and journalistic accounts have uncovered an outdated regulatory system for Canadian rail while ever-more dangerous goods like crude oil are being transported by train, often through large, urban areas.
Myriad politicians, including Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt, have promised greater security and scrutiny of the transportation of dangerous goods by rail. Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, the rail company that owned the train, has filed for bankruptcy protection as its safety are questioned. Criminal charges of negligence have been laid against three MMA employees, including the train engineer.
The Safety Board’s final report doesn’t answer all the questions, but it breaks down the crash into meticulous detail and offers changes to ensure the Lac Mégantic tragedy, the largest rail disaster in Canadian history, is never repeated.
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