Continued vigilance is absolutely necessary to ensure the safe transportation of dangerous goods by rail in colder weather, and to protect both railway workers and those living near Canada's rail corridors.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, announced that he is issuing a new Ministerial Order under the Rail Safety Act, to further reduce the risk of derailments during cold temperatures, and to improve the efficiency of Canada's winter rail operations.
The new Ministerial Order restricts train speeds based on cold temperature conditions, instead of restricting train speed based on a winter date range as required in the previous Ministerial Order. Railway companies will be required to develop and submit a Winter Operations Plan specific to each subdivision where higher risk key trains operate.
The new Ministerial Order also specifies a number of additional key elements that must be satisfied in order to achieve a greater standard of safety during cold weather conditions, including:
- improved track inspection and track maintenance practices;
