Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1991, January 13 - 13 cars derail near Carlsbad Springs, Canadian National Alexandria subdivision.

Ottawa Citizen 14 January 1991 Derailment cuts service to and from Montreal (with picture) VIA Rail service between Ottawa and Montreal remained cut this morning as workers cleared the mess of Sundays CN freight train derailment near Gloucester. Until the tracks are repaired, VIA trains to and from Montreal are being replaced with bus service, said Paul Garneau, VIA's manager of station services in Ottawa. About 300 VIA passengers took the bus Sunday. CN district manager Andre Pronovost said this morning he ejf-pected the tracks to be cleared, repaired and back in service by 3 p.m. Thirteen cars from a Montreal-to-Ottawa freight train jumped the tracks at Russell Road and Farmers Way near Carlsbad Springs at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday. -- No one was injured and no hazardous substances spilled in the Russell Road mjshap. It will take several days to establish the cause of the derailment and a damage estimate, CN spokesman Richard Boileau said today. The cause is still under investigation, Pronovost said a damaged car carrying rolls of steel may have broken the tracks. Officials from Environment and Transport Canada were on the scene to ensure the derailment did not cause any dangerous leaks.  Some cargo that concerned officials included battery fluids and naptha, a flafamable petroleum distillate commonly used as fondue fuel. One box car that particularly concerned officials contained dangerous chemicals including naptha, phosphoric acid and ethamine.  It was, opened shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday and was found to be safe, said Fred Scaffidi, a Transport Canada spokesman. CN brought two cranes from Montreal to lift the strewn cars from the snowy banks onto the tracks. Transport Canada official Noel Sabbagh said there was no evidence of leaking.  Area residents had no reason to be alarmed he said. Ottawa Citizen 15 January 1991 Train derailment cleanup continues Train service between Ottawa and Montreal was to return to normal this afternoon, but be replaced by bus service again Wednesday morning so workers can clean up the site of Sunday's train derailment in Gloucester. The track is usable, but buses are being used Wednesday morning so CN workers can finish removing freight cars from the sidelines of the accident, said CN spokesman Richard Boileau. Afternoon trains Wednesday will be unaffected and service will be normal Thursday. The cause of the derailment, which saw 13 CN freight cars jump the tracks, is still under investigation.

Return to Main Page of Railway Accidents

Updated January 2014