Track defect caused fiery 2015 Gogama derailment: Safety board recommends better track data gathering by Transport Canada.

• Position: NEWS

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is recommending that Transport Canada (TC) incorporate predictive data on rail surface conditions to help with targeted regulatory track inspections.

The board's recommendation came out following its investigation into a fiery March 7, 2015 derailment involving a Canadian National (CN) freight train near Gogama in northeastern Ontario.

"The investigation found that certain data on deteriorating rail surface conditions are not always considered by Transport Canada when it plans its inspections," said Kathy Fox, TSB chair. "By integrating data on these 'leading indicators'--which could be predictive of future rail failures--the targeted inspections would be better focused."

The derailment involved a CN unit train transporting 94 tank cars loaded with petroleum crude oil derailed on the Ruel Subdivision near Gogama.

Although the train was travelling below the 50 mph speed limit, 39 tank cars derailed, spilling about 2.6 million litres of product, which ignited, caused explosions, and contaminated the nearby Makami River. A CN rail bridge was destroyed, along with about 1,000 feet of track. There were no injuries.

The investigation found that the derailment occurred after a recently repaired rail within a joint broke under the train.

Three days prior to the accident, a track maintenance employee had repaired a broken rail by cutting out the defective rail and installing a plug rail.

However, a dye penetrant test to find defects that are not always visible to the eye was not performed prior to the repair, although required under CN standards. As a result, a vertical split head, which is an internal defect, was not detected and remained in the south rail after the repair.

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