Canadian government expands CN train length limit
Canadian National Railway Co. will have to limit the length of all of their trains, including those using distributed power, to 80 cars while operating northbound between Squamish and Clinton in British Columbia.
Following a series of derailments of CN trains traveling north, Transport Canada in November issued to CN a notice and order to limit to 80 cars its conventional trains on the same route.
“I am very concerned about the number of derailments in the Squamish area and that’s why we are further restricting CN’s operations,” said Jean-C. Lapierre, Canada’s Transport Minister. “As a safety precaution we are limiting the length of all CN trains operating northbound in the Squamish area, until CN can demonstrate that they can operate longer trains safely on that route.”
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the CN derailments to determine the causes.