CP Rail bridge collapse raises questions over who should conduct inspections

CALGARY, Alta. – The Canadian Pacific train derailment near Calgary Thursday following the partial collapse of a bridge damaged by the flooding which plagued the area,  is raising questions about the role of government in safety inspections.

Six railway cars were left teetering precariously over the Bow River Thursday when the CPR Bonnybrook rail bridge began to sag around 3:30 a.m. The railway cars were part of a 102-car mixed-cargo train heading from Edmonton east to St. Paul, Minn.. Five  of the cars were carrying a petroleum distillate, a flammable product used for solvents, metal polishes, paint thinner and household paint. The sixth car was empty with some residue of a non-regulated product, the Calgary Herald reported.

The rescue operation required coupling a stabilization train loaded with rocks and grain cars — and resting on an opposite track —to the six damaged rail cars to prevent them from toppling, the Calgary Herald also reported.

CP officials said the bridge was inspected 18 times during flooding and, despite murky water that made it impossible to detect damage to the bridge footing, deemed it safe for crossing.

CP engineers blamed the bridge’s failure on fast moving water from the flooding scouring away gravel under the support.

“We couldn’t have seen anything from an inspection on top unless there was severe movement as a result of the failure down below,” CP CEO Hunter Harrison told the media. “We would normally have probably put divers in to inspect but the current was too fast. Somebody would have drowned if they had tried to go in there, plus the current was so fast, and it’s so murky, you couldn’t do an appropriate inspection.”

But according to Canadian Press, Harrison said it would have been “jeopardizing commerce” to hold back the trains until the divers could have been sent in for an inspection.  He also characterized the bridge’s failure as “extraordinary” as the heavy rains and flooding which hit Alberta. The bridge dates back to 1912 but has not had a similar failure since 1944, he pointed out.

That left Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi less than impressed.

“Certainly, if I were Transport Canada at the moment I would spend a bit of time figuring out if I got this one right,” Nenshi said, pointing out that while under federal law CP is solely responsible for inspections of bridges along the tracks, public sector inspectors are more than capable of doing the job.

Nenshi was backed by Calgary East MP Deepa Obhrai, whose riding includes the rail yard and area where the bridge collapsed. He called CPR’s explanation of the buckled bridge “unacceptable” and wants Canadian Pacific to reroute traffic until all bridges affected by flooding can be “thoroughly examined.”

“You don’t need a rocket scientist to figure out that with massive flooding the base of the piers could be weakened, and if they could not inspect the base, as CP has said, then traffic should have been stopped until inspection of the piers was possible,” Obhrai told the media.

CP said it never considered rerouting freight train traffic to the bridge beside it because the bridge appeared to be sound.

“CP has an extensive inspection and maintenance program for all of our bridges and structures, which meets or exceeds all federal regulations and rules,” said CP spokesman Ed Greenberg.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is also investigating the collapse.