Mégantic accident NB railway pleads not guilty to other violations

Arailway owned by New Brunswick's Irving family has pleaded not guilty to 24 charges alleging the company violated safety standards in the way it transported oil. The company previously pleaded guilty to charges connected to the infamous derailment and explosion that took place in Lac-mégantic in jolly, 2013.

The current allegations against the New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Ltd., a subsidiary of J.D. Irving Ltd., come following a Transport Canada investigation triggered by the disaster that killed 47 people.

According to court documents, half of the 24 charges against the railway relate to an alleged failure to create proper shipping documents and the other half allege unqualified personnel were

involved in the shipments. These were not violations relating to the Lac Mégantic disaster

itself, but came from other occasions between Nov. 3, 2012, and July 5, 2013, in the Saint John area.

The company was originally due in court Nov. 27 but delays in disclosures from the Crown resulted in the plea coming on Friday. Last fall, Irving Oil was ordered to pay $4 million after

pleading guilty to 34 counts stemming from the investigation into the Lac Mégantic disaster. Those charges under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act resulted from a joint investigation by Transport Canada and the RCMP that was prompted by the deadly train derailment.

The current case against New Brunswick Southern Railway will return to court on June 4 to set trial dates.

(Source: the Canadian Press)