The Transportation Safety Board confirmed that at least one million litres of oil was spilled during a train derailment on Feb. 16.
The TSB said the train was travelling east at 79 km/h, when it experienced a “train-initiated emergency brake application,” which prompted 37 out of 110 railcars to go off the tracks near St. Lazare, Man.
The fifth and sixth cars stayed upright and weren’t damaged, while the other 35 piled up over a distance of about 300 to 400 feet.
Around 16 cars broke open and spilled at least 1 million litres of oil onto a small area on top of deep ice and snow on a pond. The TSB said the spill was “mostly contained in a low-lying area adjacent to the track.”
There were no fires, no one was hurt and there were no evacuations.
The TSB has finished their on-site work, and said seven of damaged cars are going to be further examined further for a tank car performance evaluation.
Some parts of the track and wheels are being sent to an engineering lab in Ottawa for further analysis as well.
