Did a 2-ft piece of rail cause a Canadian Pacific derailment in Iowa?
Written by RT&S Staff
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have called for outside independent investigations into the CP derailment near Field, B.C. on Feb. 3, 2019
Canadian Pacific
Federal officials are still investigating the cause of a Canadian Pacific derailment on Friday, Jan. 3, in LeClaire, Iowa. However, all one has to do is listen to the words of a crew member to get a pretty good feeling of what happened. Twenty-four rail cars went off the tracks and landed on a parking lot. Crews were still picking up the pieces on Jan. 6.
Radio communication between a crew member and Canadian Pacific dispatch indicate a broken rail may be the culprit of the accident. A conductor or engineer on Canadian Pacific 9716 North told dispatch the train hit a broken rail just past a switch in LeClaire. When the dispatcher asked again what was said the train was more specific, saying the locomotive went over a 2-ft piece of broken rail and that a “bunch of the train is missing.”
According to further communication, the derailment also cause downed power lines and there was a rail car on the ground leaking a hazardous material. No injuries were reported.
The Federal Railroad Administration was on the scene to gather evidence and information regarding the derailment.
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