Rail securityToronto wants Ottawa to make rail traffic through city safer

Seventeen city councilors have joined Toronto mayor John Tory to push federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt to adopt measures meant to improve rail safety in the city. Canadian Pacific runs a rail line through Toronto, and considering the recent oil train accidents in Canada and the United States, residents near rail lines are concerned.

“It’s an unprecedented step,” said Councillor Josh Matlow, who headed the effort. “Never before have so many members of council from all across Toronto, along with the mayor of our city, taken such a strong stand.”

The Toronto Star reports that the coalition wants Transport Canada, the federal agency responsible for setting transportation regulations, to explore alternate routes for hazardous goods and speed up the removal of tank cars that fail to meet newly implemented safety standards, in addition to reviewing those standards themselves, in light of recent explosions from derailments involving the updated tank cars.

Three derailments occurred in northern Ontario between February and March of this year. In two of those accidents, tank cars carrying crude oil burst into flames. Those tank cars were upgraded models of the industry standard DOT-111s. Transport Canada ordered the upgrades, to reduce the risk of cars rupturing, following the July 2013 derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, which killed forty-seven people and destroy much of the city’s downtown.

Shortly after the derailments in Ontario, Transport Canada proposed requiring railroads to adopt a tougher model of tank cars called TC-117. Critics have complained that the proposal would give railroads a decade to phase out the older cars. “While we appreciate the Canadian federal government’s efforts to improve safety and increase collaboration between communities and the rail industry, there are still more measures needed to help ensure the safety of our residents,” the letter noted.

Residents and their respective city councilors want information on the contents of rail shipments, but railroads argue that sharing such information represents a security risk. Residents are now calling for federal intervention. “The federal government could play a role in ensuring that the rail companies are more transparent with citizens,” said Matlow.

A Star investigation found out that Canadian Pacific lines that regularly pass through Toronto carries crude oil, highly toxic substances, and radioactive materials.

Last December, citing the refusal of railroads to share shipment information, Tory called for negotiations between railroads, the federal government, and Toronto to gradually halt transportation of toxic and dangerous goods through the city. “I think it’s time to let the sun shine in on this, and it’s not just a matter of some principle of transparency. It’s a matter of people being adequately informed, in a big city like this, of what is traveling through the city, and when and how much.”

The Safe Rail Communities citizens’ group supports Toronto’s push for regulating oil train shipments, but notes that the letter to Raitt failed to address other areas of concern including reducing the volatility of Bakken crude, which has been proven to be more explosive than “traditional oil.” The group also wants railroads to have insurance that would cover the costs of a disaster in an urban area like Toronto, and reverse cuts to Transport Canada’s rail safety fund to hire more track inspectors.

“Given that faulty track was a significant factor in both derailments in northern Ontario, this is an important task,” the group wrote in an emailed statement to the Star. “The transportation by rail of crude oil is a complex issue, but there are ways we can make it safer now and prevent any further tragedies. We should not forget that the Quebec coroner’s final report on the 47 deaths of Lac-Mégantic confirmed that the victims experienced a violent death, one that was ‘avoidable.’”