Language selection

Background for the Rail Investigation Report No. R03V0083

Recommendations - Extract from Railway Investigation Report R03V0083, Derailment of Canadian National (CN) freight train, near McBride, British Columbia

In December 2003, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issued two safety recommendations in advance of the final report. The recommendations focused on the issues of timber bridge maintenance, inspection and safety regulation.

Action Taken - Inspection and Maintenance of Timber Bridges

A number of bridge components were identified as defective and were not repaired by CN because of shortcomings in inspection and maintenance practices. Deficiencies associated with the inspection and maintenance of timber bridges were identified during the TSB investigation.

As a result, concerned that CN's inspection and maintenance practices were not providing a primary line of defence for timber bridges on the CN network, the Board recommended that:

Canadian National verify the condition of its timber bridges and ensure their continued safety with effective inspection and maintenance programs.
TSB Recommendation R03-04

Action Taken - Transport Canada's Monitoring Program

The Board identified a safety deficiency in the lack of integration of Transport Canada's inspection processes for this structure with its reviews of railway inspection and maintenance records. Given the potential for similar problems with other structures across the country, the Board recommended that:

Transport Canada incorporate in its compliance reviews a comparison of railway working procedures and practices with railway inspection and maintenance records.
TSB Recommendation R03-05

Transport Canada is revising its program to integrate its infrastructure monitoring into its Safety Management System approach to auditing.

The public report, R03V0083, is also available on this site.