PLASTER ROCK, N.B 鈥� Investigators are interested in the brake system and a broken axle on a CN freight train carrying crude oil that derailed in northwestern New Brunswick and forced nearby residents to leave their homes.
The Tuesday night derailment sparked a fire. CN president Claude Mongeau described the fire as a controlled burn that is normal after a derailment involving cars carrying petroleum products.
He said 17 of the train鈥檚 122 cars derailed near Wapske and five were carrying crude oil from Western sa国际传媒 that was destined for an Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, N.B. Four other cars were carrying liquefied petroleum gas.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a lot of information, we are assessing as we speak,鈥� he told a news conference in nearby Plaster Rock. 鈥淭he impact on the environment, air quality, spill seems to be very contained and hopefully will be manageable.
鈥淭he fire is our first priority at the moment. We have the equipment, we have the people and we have all the procedures in place to deal with it in a safe manner.鈥�
Late Wednesday, the company said two of the cars carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one car carrying crude oil were on fire. Aerial images of the derailment showed a jumble of cars strewn across the tracks in a wooded area with fire and smoke billowing from the wreckage.
New Brunswick鈥檚 Emergency Measures Organization said there have been no injuries and the number of people affected by an evacuation has climbed from about 60 to 150 people. The Health Department said as a precaution, people in the area with private wells should not consume water.
The regularly scheduled freight train ran into trouble 150 kilometres northwest of Fredericton at about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
CN spokesman Jim Feeny said the only people on board the train 鈥� the conductor and engineer 鈥� have provided statements, but he wouldn鈥檛 reveal what they said. He added that no one was injured.
The province initially ordered the evacuation of an area within a two-kilometre radius of the fire Tuesday night, but officials said no one was using an evacuation centre set up by the Red Cross as people forced from their homes found places to stay with family and friends.
Rail safety has become a major issue across the country since the deadly derailment in Lac-M茅gantic, Que., and as a growing amount of fuel oils and crude petroleum is carried by train across the country.
The Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the scene of the derailment and based on preliminary information from the company and the RCMP, it said the train鈥檚 brakes came on unexpectedly.
鈥淭he preliminary details that we received indicate that while the train was proceeding it had experienced an undesired brake application,鈥� Daniel Holbrook, manager of head office and western regional operations for the safety board, said from Gatineau, Que. 鈥淭he train then came to a stop.鈥�
He said the crew went to inspect the train and found that the 13th car behind the locomotives had derailed and noticed the axle had failed, but investigators don鈥檛 know what role that might have played in the derailment. Holbrook said investigators don鈥檛 yet know the sequence of events.
