On Tuesday night, a Canadian freight train carrying crude oil and propane derailed in a sparsely populated region of northwestern New Brunswick, leading to the evacuation of nearly 60 people after a large fire broke out.
15 cars and a locomotive derailed in near the little town of Plaster Rock. 14 of the cars were toward the end of the train and in the area of the fire.
Of the cars that derailed, four were carrying propane and another four were carrying crude oil.
The train’s engineer and conductor, the only people on the train, were not hurt in the derailment. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the train to leave the tracks.
This derailment has brought up new concerns about the increasing use of railroads to transport oil throughout North America. There were 47 deaths in Megantic, Quebec last July when a train carrying crude oil derailed. In December, an oil train derailed and exploded in North Dakota, yet again leading to the evacuation of a town.
In November, after provinces and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities demanded more transparency, the federal government began requiring rail companies to notify communities when they transport dangerous goods through them.
