Gatineau Quebec - The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has issued three recommendations to Transport Canada, aimed at improving the safety of cold weather train operations in the Canadian Rockies and other mountainous regions of Canada.
 
The recommendations stem from a TSB investigation into a fatal freight train derailment that killed three people in February 2019 near Field, B.C.
 
They include:
 
A call for enhanced testing standards and time-based maintenance for air-brake cylinders on all freight cars, including grain hopper cars, that operate on steep descending grades in cold ambient temperatures.
 
A recommendation that automatic parking brakes be installed on freight cars, especially cars that make up bulk commodity unit trains that operate through mountainous territory.
 
A recommendation that Canadian Pacific Railway demonstrate to Transport Canada that it can effectively identify hazards and assess and mitigate risk using all available information.
 
The recommendations were outlined during a TSB news conference, held 31 Mar 2022 in Calgary, approximately three years after a 112 car grain train derailed on CP's mountainous Laggan subdivision near Field, killing all three members of the train crew aboard.
 
Brian Cross.