By Brian Burchell
Two Canadian Pacific freight trains collided on August 21 sending two locomotives and several rail cars off the tracks just north of Dupont Street near Howland Avenue. The trains were going in opposite directions and one clipped the tail end of the other as it failed to execute a safe pass.
The August 21 twin train derailment on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line at Dupont Street is a reminder of just how much of a potential disaster is ticking away on our doorstep. It adds urgency to what is no longer a theoretical conversation.
PHOTO COURTESY ARLYN MCADOREY: A Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive derailed near Howland Avenue and Dupont Street on Aug. 21 after two of its freight trains collided, the cause of which remains unknown. Posting on Twitter shortly after the derailment, Transport Canada said that its rail and dangerous goods specialists were on site, and that a minister’s observer had examined the scene. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has also announced that the derailment is under investigation. The Gleaner will follow up in the September edition.