Update: CP Rail trains collide and derail east of Revelstoke

Two CP Rail trains collided and derailed in the early morning hours on Sunday, Sept. 6 at a location about 50 kilometres west of Golden, B.C.

Deploying investigators following derailment and collision between 2 CP trains near Golden BC http://t.co/MRh1kuRQwj

— TSB of Canada (@TSBCanada) September 6, 2015

In a media statement, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said they are, “deploying a team to the site of a collision and derailment between two Canadian Pacific trains near Golden, British Columbia. The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence.”

Spokespersons for the TSB and CP Rail were not immediately available for comment. The Revelstoke Mountaineer has left requests for comment with both organizations on Sunday morning and we’ll follow up when more information becomes available.

Update, 11:29 a.m.:

Transportation Safety board spokesperson Chris Krepski said the incident happened at 2:25 a.m. Pacific Standard Time at Mile 62 of the Mountain Subdivision when an eastbound train struck the tail end of a westbound train that was on a siding.

Krepski said that the two head-end locomotives and the first car on the eastbound train derailed, as did the last car on the westbound train.

“Everything derailed upright and there were no reports of injuries or leaks,” Krepski said. The derailed car on the eastbound train was an empty potash car, while the derailed car on the westbound train was a “loaded non-dangerous goods car.”

Krepski said their investigator was arriving on scene mid-morning and the information he was providing to the media was reported to the TSB by CP Rail.

CP Rail has not yet responded to our request for a telephone interview. In a brief email, CP spokesperson Jeremy Berry confirmed the bare basics of the event, saying there were no injuries or public safety issues.

The TSB will now investigate the incident, gathering information on things such as the condition of the rolling stock, ambient weather conditions, interviews with witnesses, retrieving data loggers from the trains, and conditions of the tracks.

TSB reports typically take many months before they are posted to the TSB website (see this webpage).

Krepski said the investigation on the ground will in part determine whether this incident results in a report to the public.

“We’ll have to assess the information that we gather from the incident site and determine what the next steps will be,” he said.

Do you have more information on this incident? Contact the Revelstoke Mountaineer at [email protected] or call 250-814-8710.