The company that owns the train involved in the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, rail disaster has a “weak safety culture” and lacks a safety management system to manage risks, Canadian authorities said Tuesday. Furthermore, Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) was not audited often or thoroughly enough and had flawed training, employee monitoring and maintenance practices prior to the disaster, they said.
In its report, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada called for additional physical defenses against runaway trains and more thorough audits of safety management systems. Overall, the board identified 18 different factors that played a role in the accident.
The incident occurred July 6, 2013 when an MMA train parked on a descending grade rolled downhill toward Lac-Mégantic. The train derailed at a high speed near the center of town, spilling 1.6 million gallons of crude oil, which ignited into a massive fire. Forty-seven people were killed.
The incident is the hallmark example of a spate of oil train accidents that spurred crude-by-rail safety initiatives from government and the private sector in both Canada and the U.S.
SEE ALSO: DOT rolls out new rules for trains carrying crude oil
