Transport Canada Investing C$21MM in Rail Safety
Transport Canada’s Rail Safety Improvement Program for 2021-22 will distribute C$21 million to 135 projects covering public education and awareness as well as infrastructure, technology and research.
Transport Canada
Transport Canada Issues Rail Safety Orders
Transport Canada has released two Ministerial Orders, under the Railway Safety Act, to further reduce the risk of uncontrolled rail equipment moves.
Canadian Auditor General: Transport Canada Safety Oversight Lacking
Canada’s Auditor General, the equivalent of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, recently released a report criticizing Transport Canada (TC), the equivalent of the Federal Railroad Administration, as to its overall effectiveness overseeing rail safety.
AAR: Railroads ‘Stand Ready’ to Combat Climate Change
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has published a position paper encouraging lawmakers “to embrace economically grounded, market-based solutions” as they consider reductions in transportation sector emissions.
Buttigieg, Alghabra Commit to ‘Reinvigorate’ U.S., Canada Transportation Partnership
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra will team “to fight climate change and limit the environmental impacts” from the countries’ transportation networks, USDOT and Transport Canada announced on Feb. 25.
For Canada, Updated Winter Hazmat Transport Rules
Transport Canada approved changes to the Rules Respecting Key Trains and Key Routes, under the Railway Safety Act, on Feb. 22.
Commentary
Consistency Conspicuous in its Absence
Have you every missed something so completely that you question your own connections to reality? Like maybe missing the year or more of notices and communications from the Federal Railroad Administration regarding its “Miscellaneous Amendments to Brake Systems Safety Standards and Codification of Waivers” (Docket FRA-2018-0093)?
Transport Canada Updates Rail Employee Fatigue Rules
Transport Canada has updated the Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees, placing new limits on duty-period length; increasing the minimum rest period between shifts; and establishing limits on total hours worked per week, month and year.
New Speed Restrictions for Canadian Hazmat Trains
After the derailment of several trains hauling hazardous materials, namely crude oil, Transport Canada has issued new orders around the speed of these trains, which are now classified as “key trains” and “higher-risk key trains.”
Transport Canada: Normalized steel TIH requirement, consistent with U.S.
Railroad tank cars transporting TIH (toxic inhalation hazard) substances in Canada will be required to have heads and shells constructed of normalized steel under updated Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations established by Transport Canada. The new rules, which take effect July 2, 2021, are consistent with updated U.S. regulations. Normalized steel undergoes heat treatment that increases its durability and resistance to cracking at low temperatures.