Canadian enforcer and rail firm blamed for tragedy

Poor safety systems at a rail company, compounded by lax government safety oversight, have been blamed oil train explosion that killed 47 people in Canada in 2013. Transportation Safety Board (TSB) chair, Wendy Tadros, presenting the official report into the tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, said 18 factors played a role, given prominence to a rail company that cut corners and a Canadian regulator that did not do proper safety audits.

Poor safety systems at a rail company, compounded by lax government safety oversight, have been blamed oil train explosion that killed 47 people in Canada in 2013.

Transportation Safety Board (TSB) chairperson, Wendy Tadros, presenting the official report into the tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, said 18 factors played a role, including a rail company that cut corners and a Canadian regulator that did not do proper safety audits.

The report came 13 months after a runaway train carrying 72 carloads of volatile oil from North Dakota derailed, hurtled down an incline and slammed into downtown Lac-Megantic. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railways (MMA) went bankrupt after the disaster.

The company and three of its employees, including the train driver, have been charged by Quebec prosecutors with 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death. The official report now indicates the bulk of the blame lies with the company and the regulator.

Wendy Tadros, chair of the TSB, said: “Accidents never come down to a single individual, a single action or a single factor. You have to look at the whole context.”
She told a news conference in Lac-Megantic: “We now know why the situation developed over time. A weak safety culture at MMA, poor training of employees, tank cars that didn’t offer enough protection.” She added: “Transport Canada didn’t audit railways often enough and thoroughly enough to know how those companies were really managing, or not managing, risk.”

The union USW said the report had identified “the true culprits.” Local union president Steven Hadden said: “They tried to make the workers carry the blame, but today’s report clearly shows that the main parties responsible are the MMA and the federal agency.”