Reuters AlertNet Lite - CN Rail says charged over 2005 derailment spill

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CN Rail says charged over 2005 derailment spill

03 Aug 2007 21:28:15 GMT
Source: Reuters

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Canadian National Railway <CNR.TO> has been charged over a 2005 derailment that poisoned a scenic river near Vancouver, a railway spokesman said on Friday.

CN Rail is still reviewing the two federal and three provincial charges that were filed against it on Thursday over the accident in the Cheakamus River canyon that killed an estimated 500,000 fish, spokesman Jim Feeny said.

Nine cars of a 144-car CN train jumped the tracks on Aug 5, 2005, with one spilling caustic soda into the water.

A Transportation Safety Board report last month said human error, poor supervision and CN's use of long trains to reduce operating costs all contributed to the accident on one of North America's most difficult mountain rail lines.

The board's report slammed Canada's largest railway, saying it had failed to retain adequate "local knowledge" in operating the rail line that it had acquired in the 2004 purchase of BC Rail from the provincial government.

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Last updated:Fri Aug 3 21:30:27 2007