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ARTICLE · 29 JULY 2013

Emergency Directive On Rail Safety

DLA Piper
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In the wake of the Lac-Mégantic disaster, Transport Canada has issued an emergency directive under Section 33 of the Railway Safety Act in order to address some of the issues that have been preliminary identified as potential causes of the disaster.

CanadaTransport
Michael Styczen, P.Eng
Michael Styczen, P.Eng
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In the wake of the Lac-Mégantic disaster, Transport Canada has issued an emergency directive under Section 33 of the Railway Safety Act in order to address some of the issues that have been preliminary identified as potential causes of the disaster. 

These measures are effective immediately for all federally regulated railways and apply outside of yards and terminals. 

Railway operators are required to ensure that (where dangerous goods are being transported):

  • Trains transporting dangerous goods are operated by at least two qualified persons
  • Locomotives coupled to tank cars transporting dangerous goods are not left unattended on a main track;

In addition, for all operations (whether transporting dangerous goods or not), the operator must ensure that:

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