List of rail accidents in Canada

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This is a list of rail accidents in Canada.

List[]

Accident Date Location Killed Injured Description Ref.
Jeannette's Creek train wreck 27 October 1854 Chatham-Kent, Ontario 52 48 A Great Western Railway passenger train en route to Windsor from London at night collided with the rear of a gravel train reversing from a siding, whose engineer believed the passenger train had already passed by. [1]
Great Western Railway disaster 12 March 1857 Hamilton, Ontario 59 18 A Great Western Railway passenger train bound for Hamilton crashes into the Desjardins Canal bridge, causing its collapse. The train plunges into the icy waters of the canal. [2]
St-Hilaire train disaster 29 June 1864 Otterburn Park, near Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec 99 100 A Grand Trunk train travelling from Quebec City to Montreal is driven into the Richelieu River due to the river's swing bridge being open.
1906 Nairn derailment 1906 near Nairn, Sudbury District, Northern Ontario 1 Multiple A passenger train derailed to the east of Nairn at a curve which was subsequently gentled. [3]
Spanish River derailment 21 January 1910 near Nairn, Sudbury District, Northern Ontario 43+ ? A westbound Canadian Pacific express train derailed at the Spanish River bridge in Sudbury District, Ontario. [4]
Rogers Pass avalanche 4 March 1910 Rogers Pass, British Columbia 62 0 A maintenance of way crew clearing the Canadian Pacific transcontinental mainline is buried in an avalanche at the infamous Rogers Pass, which was later replaced by the Connaught Tunnel and abandoned.
CPR 694 derailment 10 July 1910 near Marathon, Ontario 3 0 Canadian Pacific 694 derailed and fell into Lake Superior, killing its three crew members. The wreck of the locomotive was discovered by divers in the mid-2010s. [5]
Tignish train crash 21 February 1932 near Tignish, Prince Edward Island 4 11 A snow storm resulted in a train getting stuck in a snow drift. Another train collided head on with the stuck train. The incident is considered PEI's worst rail accident. [6]
Dugald rail accident 1 September 1947 Dugald, Manitoba 31 85 A westbound seasonal excursion train collided head-on with the eastbound Canadian National Continental Limited.
Canoe River train crash 21 November 1950 near Valemount, British Columbia 21 A westbound troop train collided head-on with an eastbound Canadian National Continental Limited passenger train. The bulk of the casualties were suffered by the passengers of the troop train, who were travelling in wooden cars which were no longer being used for regular passenger service.
Coniston bus–train crash 9 February 1951 Coniston, Ontario 9 30 A westbound CPR "Montreal to Vancouver flyer" had passed through the Coniston railway station and was picking up speed when it slammed into a bus which was filled with local people, including a number of night shift workers at the local Inco smelter who were returning home from work. The crash was blamed on poor visibility. [7]
Dorion level crossing accident 7 October 1966 Dorion, Quebec 19 26 A Canadian National freight train struck a school bus which was transporting students to a dance.
1979 Turbo Train fire 29 May 1979 near Morrisburg, Ontario 0 0 A UAC TurboTrain operated by Via Rail on westbound service from Montréal to Toronto caught fire after developing an oil leak. A third of the train was totally destroyed, though there were no deaths or injuries due to a rapid evacuation. This was the last major incident for the troubled Turbo Trains, which were retired in 1982. [8]
1979 Mississauga train derailment 10 November 1979 Mississauga, Ontario 0 0 A Canadian Pacific freight train hauling large quantities of explosives and dangerous chemicals derailed, exploded, and caught fire in Mississauga, Ontario. Over 200,000 people were evacuated from the area, the largest evacuation in North America until Hurricane Katrina. In the negotiations that followed, CP dropped its longstanding opposition to passenger trains on the line, resulting in the opening of GO Transit Milton line service.
Hinton train collision 8 February 1986 Dalehurst, Alberta 23 71 A Canadian National freight train collided with the Via Rail Super Continental.
1995 Russell Hill subway accident 11 August 1995 Toronto, Ontario 3 30+ A southbound Line 1 Yonge–University subway train on the University line between St. Clair West and Dupont stations struck the rear of a stationary subway train.
Northlander derailment 6 February 2001 Toronto, Ontario 0 2 An Ontario Northland Railway Northlander passenger train derails in the Don Valley. 2 passengers are injured. [9]
2001 Stewiacke Via derailment 12 April 2001 Stewiacke, Nova Scotia 0 20 Via Rail's westbound passenger train Ocean travelling from Halifax to Montreal derailed after a manual switch had been tampered with. [10]
Cheakamus River derailment 5 August 2005 Cheakamus River, British Columbia 0 0 A Canadian National freight train derailed into the Cheakamus River, leaking sodium hydroxide and killing over 500,000 fish.
2009 Oshawa derailment 5 June 2009 Oshawa, Ontario 0 0 Derailment of a train carrying dangerous goods prompts evacuation of hundreds of people from their homes. [9]
2012 Burlington Via derailment 26 February 2012 Burlington, Ontario 3 46 An eastbound Via Rail train 92 travelling from Niagara Falls to Toronto derailed east of Aldershot station.
Lac-Mégantic rail disaster 6 July 2013 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec 47 A Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway freight train hauling 72 dangerous goods tank cars filled with petroleum crude oil derails in the centre of the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing dozens of people and destroying much of the downtown.
2013 Ottawa bus–train crash 18 September 2013 Ottawa, Ontario 6 35 Via Rail train 51 struck an OC Transpo double-decker bus en route from Ottawa to Toronto at a level crossing.
2014 Nairn derailment April 2014 near Nairn Centre, Ontario 0 0 A Huron Central Railway freight train derailed and leaked 25,000 litres (6,600 US gal) of diesel fuel into a local creek and wetland. [11]
Spanish derailment 1 November 2015 near Spanish, Ontario 0 0 Poor track conditions led to the derailment of a Huron Central Railway freight train. [12]
Ponton train derailment 15 September 2018 Ponton, Manitoba 1 0 A Hudson Bay Railway freight train carrying petroleum products derailed while crossing the Metishto River. The train's conductor was injured and subsequently bled to death.
Goderich harbour derailment 1 February 2021 Goderich, Ontario 0 0 A Goderich–Exeter Railway freight train derailed during operations at the grain terminal at the harbour, destroying the Siddall Fish House, a heritage structure which was the last surviving example of the 19th century Goderich fishing industry. [13]
2021 Crowsnest Pass derailment 12 February 2021 Crowsnest Pass 0 0 A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train carrying potash derailed while travelling through the Crowsnest Pass in the Rocky Mountains. Two locomotives left the tracks along with at least 48 freight cars, with five cars falling into Crowsnest Lake. There were no injuries or deaths. [14]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Dreadful Accident on the Great Western". The Globe. October 31, 1854. p. 2.
  2. ^ Smith, Edward (2007). "All My Politics Are Railroads". Dundurn Castle: Sir Allan MacNab and his Hamilton Home. James Lorimer & Company Ltd. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-55028-988-6
  3. ^ "Nairn Centre 1896–1996: The First 100 Years" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Railway disaster: The Spanish River train wreck". Soo Today. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  5. ^ Furgala, Gregory (26 August 2016). "After more than a hundred years, a derailed train that plunged into Lake Superior has been found". National Post. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Tignish Train Wreck". Island Narratives Program. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  7. ^ "69 years ago: Remembering the deadly Coniston bus crash". Sudbury.com. 9 February 2020.
  8. ^ Bateman, Chris (9 December 2015). "Remembering the ill-fated CN Turbo train". Spacing Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b Toronto Star. 26 February 2012 https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/02/26/via_rail_derailment_few_accidents_in_gta_over_the_years_have_proved_fatal.html. Retrieved 30 May 2021. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ "Railway Investigation Report R01M0024". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Spanish River diesel fuel spill worries Nairn Centre area residents". CBC.ca. CBC. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Poor track conditions and inadequate drainage led to November 2015 derailment of a Huron Central Railway train near Spanish, Ontario". Canada Newswire. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  13. ^ Trevithick, Matthew (2 February 2021). "Transport Canada, TSB officials deployed to scene of Goderich, Ont., train derailment". Global News.
  14. ^ Heidenreich, Phil (12 February 2021). "Investigation underway after train carrying potash derails near Alberta-B.C. border". Global News.

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