Locomotives are equipped with 2 air brake systems: automatic and independent.
The automatic brake system applies the brakes to each locomotive and to each car in the train as well; it is normally used during train operations to slow and stop the train.
On 4 February 2019, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) freight train 301-349 being operated by a relief crew derailed on Field Hill near Field, British Columbia, on a 13.5-mile section of track with a steep descending grade (average 2.2%) and several sharp curves. The 3 crew members—a locomotive engineer, a conductor, and a conductor trainee—were fatally injured in the
Investigations conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are complex since an accident rarely results from a single cause. In the case of the Field, British Columbia, accident on 4 February 2019 several factors led to the uncontrolled movement, derailment and the fatal injuries of 3 crew members. The 23 findings below detail the causes and contributing factors that led to this occurrence.
On 22 December 2017, at about 1800 Central Standard Time during hours of darkness, a Canadian National Railway Company (CN) foreman and a helper were performing switching operations at CN’s Melville Yard in Melville, Saskatchewan.
From 2009 to 2018, there were 562 occurrences reported to the Transporatation Safety Bord of Canada (TSB) related to unplanned/uncontrolled movements among all railways in Canada.
On 22 December 2017, at about 1800 Central Standard Time during hours of darkness, a Canadian National Railway Company (CN) foreman and a helper were performing switching operations at CN’s Melville Yard in Melville, Saskatchewan.
Investigations conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are complex since an accident rarely results from a single cause. In the case of the Melville, Saskatchewan, accident on 22 December 2017 several factors led to the uncontrolled movement and employee fatality. The 9 findings below detail the causes and contributing factors that led to this occurrence.
On 17 June 2016, a Canadian National Railway (CN) crew was performing switching operations using a remote control locomotive system (known as a Beltpack) in MacMillan Yard, located in Vaughan, near Toronto, Ontario. The crew was pulling 72 loaded cars and 2 empty cars southward from the yard toward the York 3 main track, in order to clear the switch at the south end of the Halton outbound track, when it lost control of the cars.
