Gatineau, Quebec, 11 October 2012 – The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has released its final investigation report (R11T0162) into the 14 July 2011 derailment of a Canadian National (CN) freight train near Waterfall, Ontario. There were no injuries and no dangerous goods were released.
CN freight-train was proceeding southward at 40 mph when it derailed 11 multi-platform intermodal cars carrying 86 containers on CN’s Bala subdivision near Waterfall, Ontario. Approximately 6800 feet of track was damaged or destroyed including the Waterfall south siding switch. The investigation found that the derailment conditions had resulted from the combined effects of the weakened track structure, worn truck components condition and the cornering behaviour of a double stack car.
This is the third time the TSB has deployed to an intermodal freight train derailment on the Bala Subdivision. At Waterfall, the investigation determined that the rail spike pattern and tie plate size did not meet company specifications for the level of traffic and rail curvature at the location of the accident.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
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