Railways support protective direction 32 on disclosure of dangerous goods, says Railway Association of Canada

OTTAWA, Ont.–Canada’s railway industry “welcomes the Minister of Transport’s announcement of a Protective Direction under section 32 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, requiring the disclosure to designated Emergency Planning Official of each municipality through which dangerous goods are transported by rail, with yearly aggregate information on the nature and volume of dangerous goods.”

 “Railways in Canada have always shared information about dangerous goods with communities and we support the formalization of information sharing with municipal partners and first responders across Canada,” says Railway Association of Canada President and CEO Michael Bourque. “Railways have excellent relationships with first responders and we are anxious to help them develop effective and realistic emergency response plans and to be capable of reacting if an incident were to occur.”

Through various programs, including the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER®) initiative, we work together to ensure municipal emergency planners and responders are properly trained to work with industry experts and qualified contractors in developing emergency response plans. In 2012, the RAC Dangerous Goods team conducted more than 75 TRANSCAER® events in Canada involving some 1100 participants, and those numbers are set to double in 2013. Other initiatives, such as Operation Lifesaver, further aim to improve safety in communities across Canada, the RAC adds. 

A remarkable 99.9977 per cent of all rail dangerous goods shipments reach their destination without a release caused by train accident. Accident rates of Canadian Class 1 railways have declined significantly since 1999 to fewer than two main-track accidents per million train-miles, says the association.