Rail safety rules approved

Transport Canada has quietly approved new safety rules drafted by the railway industry “after” the disaster in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. This as a team of experts used explosives Friday to help put out a fire that’s been burning in two of the 19 tanker cars that derailed this week in Northwestern New Brunswick.

We have some dramatic video of that explosion to show you. It was so large, it could be seen from at least 5km away.

A boom could be heard from the site of the New Brunswick train derailment Friday afternoon as a large orange fireball erupted into the sky from a controlled explosion. Officials used the what they call a “vent and burn” procedure on two tank cars carrying liquified petroleum gas that have been burning and a third car containing gas that was not on fire. The procedure involved placing small explosive devices on the tankers to blow holes in them, releasing vapour and gas, allowing it to burn off.

150 people were evacuated when the 19 of the trains’ 122 cars derailed Tuesday night in Wapske. There is still no word on when they can return to their homes.

Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has called for more rail safety oversight: “We let the companies decide for themselves, we let them regulate themselves and guess what? It was only by the grace of God that nobody was killed in N.B. this week.”

Following the Lac Megantic disaster that claimed 47 lives, it was required at least two crew members work on any train transporting hazardous materials, such as crude oil. But while it was prohibited for these trains to be left unattended under the emergency directive, that’s no longer the case. Instead, new rules approved by Transport Canada say a crew member must safely apply brakes to prevent the train from rolling away, and secure the cab to prevent unauthorized entry before leaving the locomotive.

Investigators still haven’t determined the cause of Tuesday’s derailment in New Brunswick. CN says Friday’s controlled explosion went according to plan and once the fire is out investigators will be able to take a closer look into what went wrong.