Tragic Deaths of Three Rail Workers

Urgent Need for a Rail Safety Regime that
Serves the Employees and Public

Workers' Forum expresses its deepest condolences to the families, loved ones and co-workers of conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell and trainee Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer, Canadian Pacific Railway crew members killed on February 4, in a train derailment near the Alberta-British Columbia border. The train plunged nearly 60 metres from a bridge into the Kicking Horse River.

Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said the workers had just taken over the train consisting of three locomotives and 112 cars east of Field, BC. All three workers were based in Calgary.

Eight railway workers have now died in Canada since November 2017. Investigations into these accidents are still ongoing, TCRC reports.

"Today, our focus is on this accident as well as the victims' friends and families. But moving forward, the government and the rail industry will have to recognize that something is wrong and change is needed. Eight workplace fatalities in a little over a year is not something that should be expected or accepted," said Lyndon Isaack, President of the TCRC.

The train derailed between the Upper and Lower Spiral Tunnels, which were built in 1910 to accommodate the steep grade over the Kicking Horse Pass, a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas with an elevation of 1,627 metres. The slope grade and route are considered one of the most treacherous in North America.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) website has documented 64 CP train derailments since 2004 on the 220 kilometre track between Field, BC and Calgary. Almost half of those accidents have occurred within 30 kilometres of the area near the Spiral Tunnels. Another derailment took place in the same area as recently as January 3.

In a news conference held February 5, the TSB spokesperson stated that preliminary indications suggest the disaster was a "loss of control" that began after the train had been parked for several hours and with a change of crew. The train started to move on its own and barrelled down a steep slope of tracks for three kilometres before plunging over a cliff.

Environment Canada reports temperatures at the time were extremely cold and well below what is considered the "tipping point" of -25°C when the cold can cause failure of air brakes and other cold-related hazards.

The spokesperson had no information in response to questions from the press as to whether CP was in contact with the crew prior to boarding, and whether the crew had expressed concerns about proceeding under the conditions.

Rail workers have waged a protracted struggle to defend their health and safety and that of the public from the rapacious and reckless actions of CP in its pursuit and competition for private profit. Features of the deadly rivalry over freight transportation in Canada include fewer workers in control of trains and engaged in maintenance, more remote-controlled operations and trains that are longer, faster, and loaded with heavier freight including dangerous materials such as oil and gas.

Rail workers are precious, and the terrible and continuing loss of their lives must be ended. CP, other railways and governments that permit self-regulation and the pursuit of private profit in contradiction with the safety of workers and the public must be held to account.

This article was published in

Number 4 - February 7, 2019

Article Link:
Tragic Deaths of Three Rail Workers: Urgent Need for a Rail Safety Regime that Serves the Employees and Public

    

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