Cause of derailment unclear
Published: October 16th 2008
Source: Alliston Herald
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Investigators are working to determine the cause of a train derailment in a remote section of Severn Township early Tuesday morning.

Eight flatbed cars attached to the tail end of a Canadian Pacific freight train jumped the track at the Buckhorn Road crossing along Upper Big Chute Road shortly after 4 a.m., police reported.

The isolated crossing is located south of Severn Falls, in a heavily wooded area of the rural township.

Reached the following morning, a spokesperson for CP Rail stressed that nobody was injured in the incident, adding that the cars involved were empty.

“There were no regulated commodities involved,” said Mike LoVecchio. “The cars were empty flat cars, so there was never any risk to the environment.”

The derailment led police to cordon off Upper Big Chute Road between White Pines Road and Kitchen Side Road, diverting traffic in either direction.

The crossing remained closed as engineering and mechanical crews replaced portions of the track with prefabricated tracks and rail ties, while new ballast material was added for support.

“It gets the track back in service,” LoVecchio said, noting that the portion of the train not affected by the derailment has since been moved from the area.

He said crews were repacking and repaving the surface of the crossing, which was damaged in the incident.

It remained closed to traffic “briefly” yesterday, but was to reopen even as workers finished the repairs, he said.

LoVecchio anticipated the repair work would be completed by Thursday morning, and said traffic was to be allowed through the crossing for most of Wednesday.

“All work should be complete tomorrow,” he added. “The work will proceed as quickly and safely as possible, but there is always a lot of work.”

“We do appreciate the patience of local residents while the restoration is ongoing,” he added.

“We try to do this work in a very timely manner, very quickly. But safety is our top priority, so we do it in a safe manner and as quickly as possible.”

The cause of the derailment has yet to be determined.

“That is under investigation at this point,” LoVecchio said.