RAILWAY DISASTER
Most rail firms use two operators
One- person crew policy under review as death toll in Lac- Mégantic reaches 24.
LAC- MÉGANTIC, Que. — Transport Canada has confirmed that the use of a single crew member on the train that led to the rail disaster July 6 in this Quebec town, which has now claimed a confirmed 24 lives, is part of the investigation by the Transportation Safety Board.
Maryse Durette, senior media relations adviser with Transport Canada, said in an email that “regulatory action under the Rail Safety Act can be used if the parameters for single person train operation ( SPTO) are not met or if Transport Canada determines that there is a risk to safe railway operations. These matters will all be a part of the TSB investigation.”
In Canada, for a railway to use a single crew member, the company must first carry out a “review of their Safety Management Systems to verify they have the appropriate technology in place to support single- person operations,” Durette said.
Transport Canada does not have to authorize or give its permission for the practice, according to Durette. If, on the other hand, the company fails to meet Transport Canada’s guidelines, the agency will tell the railway company that it can’t operate this type of operation.
Luc Bourdon, Transport Canada’s director general of rail safety, told media this week that Transport Canada monitors such operations on a regular basis.
We actually think oneman crews are safer than two- man crews because there’s less distraction.
EDWARD BURKHARDT
CEO, RAIL WORLD
According to Bourdon, Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, whose 72- car train derailed and exploded in the centre of Lac- Mégantic, was one of only two railway companies to operate with one- person crews in Canada. The other is the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway.
Edward Burkhardt, chief executive officer of Rail World Inc., which owns the MMA, defended the use of a one- person crew during his visit to Lac- Mégantic Wednesday, saying: “We actually think one- man crews are safer than two- man crews because there’s less distraction.” Burkhardt nonetheless blamed the one crew member, who has been identified as Farnham, Que., resident Tom Harding, saying he had been suspended.
Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, who received applause as she visited the town Thursday for a second time, called MMA’s handling of the crisis “deplorable.”