Train strikes workers clearing snow

Three contractors for CN Rail were injured Wednesday — two critically — when struck by a train while clearing snow on a track in northeast Edmonton.

Police were called to the tracks at Meridian Street and Hayter Road about 9:10 a.m., Edmonton police acting Sgt. Terry Cassells said.

Three workers, all men, were wearing ear protection as they used snow blowers to clear rail switches next to the track just east of Meridian Street, Casells said. They did not hear the approaching train sound its whistle.

“It just happened that nobody was able to hear the train coming because of the work they were doing.” Cassell said.

“The engineer couldn’t get their attention and he couldn’t stop the train on the icy rails.”

The eastbound train was travelling about 40 kilometres per hour when it hit the men, Cassells said.

“They got spun around and got struck,” he said.

Two of the men were sent to the University Hospital and the third to the Royal Alex.

Two of the workers were in critical condition and the third man suffered minor trauma, Cassells said. The names of the victims were not released.

The men were contract workers doing routine maintenance, said CN Rail spokesman Patrick Waldron.

A CN investigation is underway, he said.

The men were employed by A&B Rail Services Ltd., a Sherwood Park company that provides track construction and maintenance services, said Alberta Occupational Health and Safety spokeswoman Sonia Sinha.

The company is provincially regulated, so Alberta OHS will conduct a joint investigation with federal OHS officials, who are typically in charge of investigating rail incidents in Canada.