More training needed for rail employees, TSB says

TORONTO — The federal agency responsible for transportation policies across the country must modernize training and qualification rules for railway employees to help staff keep up with evolving industry practices and technology, Canada’s transport safety watchdog said Wednesday.

The Transportation Safety Board said it’s been issuing similar calls for nearly 15 years, but an investigation into a 2016 runaway train incident near Toronto has prompted it to redouble its entreaties to Transport Canada.

“What we learned is that the regulations that govern employee qualification standards have not kept pace with the significant changes in railway operations over the years,” said board member Faye Ackermans.

“As a result, some railway employees working in key positions may lack the training or experience to safely perform their duties.”

Ackermans said the board is recommending that Transport Canada update its Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations, adding it’s been urging the government body to do so since 2003.

Transport Canada said it is reviewing the board’s recommendation but already has the issue on its radar.

“Transport Canada is currently looking at ways to strengthen the railway employee qualification and training regime to reflect changes in an evolving railway industry,” spokeswoman Annie Joannette said in a statement.

The TSB’s most recent investigation was prompted by an incident in June 2016 at the MacMillan rail yard near Toronto.

The board found two employees were assembling a train consisting of two locomotives and 74 cars, one of which Ackermans said contained flammable liquid.

The crew was trying to conduct a switching operation that required extra room. The board found they obtained permission to move the cars up a slight incline out of the yard, then downhill toward a main set of tracks.

The two crew members received briefings on their assignment, but the board found a misunderstanding arose as to the types of brakes that would be deployed.

As a result, the board found the crew members engaged only the independent brakes located on the two locomotives and did not connect automatic brakes on the freight cars that would have allowed them to slow the train down.

The crew successfully got part of the train out of the yard, but things went awry when about two thirds of the cars were positioned on the downhill slope while the rest were still in the yard on a different angle.

The board found the train did not have sufficient braking power and began travelling down a stretch of the main track for nearly five kilometres at speeds of up to 30 kilometres per hour.

It eventually came to a stop on its own without causing any injuries or damage.