Transportation Safety Board releases report on derailment in Kitwanga

KITWANGA, B.C.—A rail transportation safety report, by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, has been released in relation to a train derailment in Kitwanga, earlier this year.

The CN freight train was travelling west, towards Terrace, on January 7th, 2020 , at around 6 a.m. when the incident occurred and 34 cars loaded with wood pellets derailed. There were no injuries, and no environmental impact.

The train was travelling at 35 mph—the maximum authorized speed for freight trains at the time of the incident.

The report says that a track inspection conducted in the area of the derailment, in November, 2019 was the last to have been conducted before the derailment, two months later. During that inspection four rail flaw defects were noted in the area where the derailment occurred, which the report says were fixed prior to the derailment.