A fatal rail accident in Lac-Megantic, Quebec that has killed 13 people now has local residents living near rail tracks wondering.
The train runs by Cheryl Brinn's home in Baxter several times a day. She’s lived there for 36 years. Now, she says the trains are getting longer and hauling more goods. And she has no idea what’s on those trains.
People who live and work next to train tracks are worried about the people of Lac-Megantic and worried the same thing could happen here.
Norm Depta works right next to the tracks in Alliston. He says the Quebec explosion has made him think.
“I have to admit, this morning when I came in I was watching a lot of the news coverage and I sat at my desk and gave it a little bit of thought today just wondering, you never know,” he says. “You never know.”
Dan Heydon is the Fire Chief for New Tecumseth. He has lived next to a rail line his entire life. He says everything from car parts to chemicals run through his communities every day.
Hayden says all rail cars in the country hauling dangerous goods must be labeled so emergency personnel know what they're dealing with. He says he is watching the investigation in Quebec closely as the details come out.
Chris Damas is a hazardous chemicals expert based in Barrie. He too wonders if a disaster like Lac-Megantic's could happen again
“I don't want to say that this is a one-in-a-million accident,” Damas says. “As you push more crude oil through the rails most of us analysts felt that something was going to give and this is the tragic example of that.”
The amount of oil shipped by rail in Canada has increased 28,000 per cent over the past five years.
And shipping experts believe it will keep growing at that pace over the next few years. And now, some are calling for a closer look at how safe our rail lines are.
The train that crashed and exploded in Quebec was owned by a company called Montreal Main and Atlantic. It's Canadian Pacific that runs trains through our region. CN runs on the east side of Lake Simcoe.
