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On this day, July 6, 2013, a runaway 73-car train carrying crude oil derailed in downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
Lac-Mégantic rail disaster
Tools
Coordinates: 45°34'40"N 70°53'6"W
Police helicopter view of Lac-Mégantic, the day of the derailment
Details
Date: July 6, 2013; 11 years ago
01:14 EDT (05:14 UTC)
Location: Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
Coordinates: 45°34'40"N 70°53'6"W
Country: Canada
Operator: Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
Incident type: Derailment of a runaway train, explosion
Cause: Neglect, defective locomotive, poor maintenance, driver error, flawed operating procedures, weak regulatory oversight, lack of safety redundancy
Statistics
Trains: 1
Deaths: 47 (42 confirmed, 5 presumed)
Damage: More than 30 buildings destroyed, 36 to be demolished due to contamination
The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, on July 6, 2013, at approximately 1:14 a.m. EDT, when an unattended 73-car Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) freight train carrying Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from Nantes and derailed downtown, resulting in the explosion and fire of multiple tank cars. Forty-seven people were killed. More than thirty buildings in Lac-Mégantic's town centre (roughly half of the downtown area) were destroyed, and all but three of the thirty-nine remaining buildings had to be demolished due to petroleum contamination. Initial newspaper reports described a 1 km (0.6-mile) blast radius.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada identified multiple causes for the accident, principally leaving a train unattended on a main line, failure to set enough handbrakes, and lack of a backup safety mechanism.
The death toll of 47 makes this the fourth-deadliest rail accident in Canadian history, and the deadliest involving a non-passenger train. It is also the deadliest rail accident since Canada's confederation in 1867. The last Canadian rail accident to have a higher death toll was the St-Hilaire train disaster in 1864, which killed 99.
{snip}
Technical investigation
Main article: Technical investigation of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) launched an investigation into the accident. In its August 2014 report, the TSB identified 18 distinct causes and contributing factors, which included leaving the train unattended on a main line, failure to set enough hand brakes, the lack of a backup safety mechanism, poor maintenance on the locomotive and several failures of training and oversight.
{snip}
Tools
Coordinates: 45°34'40"N 70°53'6"W
Police helicopter view of Lac-Mégantic, the day of the derailment
Details
Date: July 6, 2013; 11 years ago
01:14 EDT (05:14 UTC)
Location: Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
Coordinates: 45°34'40"N 70°53'6"W
Country: Canada
Operator: Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
Incident type: Derailment of a runaway train, explosion
Cause: Neglect, defective locomotive, poor maintenance, driver error, flawed operating procedures, weak regulatory oversight, lack of safety redundancy
Statistics
Trains: 1
Deaths: 47 (42 confirmed, 5 presumed)
Damage: More than 30 buildings destroyed, 36 to be demolished due to contamination
The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, on July 6, 2013, at approximately 1:14 a.m. EDT, when an unattended 73-car Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) freight train carrying Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from Nantes and derailed downtown, resulting in the explosion and fire of multiple tank cars. Forty-seven people were killed. More than thirty buildings in Lac-Mégantic's town centre (roughly half of the downtown area) were destroyed, and all but three of the thirty-nine remaining buildings had to be demolished due to petroleum contamination. Initial newspaper reports described a 1 km (0.6-mile) blast radius.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada identified multiple causes for the accident, principally leaving a train unattended on a main line, failure to set enough handbrakes, and lack of a backup safety mechanism.
The death toll of 47 makes this the fourth-deadliest rail accident in Canadian history, and the deadliest involving a non-passenger train. It is also the deadliest rail accident since Canada's confederation in 1867. The last Canadian rail accident to have a higher death toll was the St-Hilaire train disaster in 1864, which killed 99.
{snip}
Technical investigation
Main article: Technical investigation of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) launched an investigation into the accident. In its August 2014 report, the TSB identified 18 distinct causes and contributing factors, which included leaving the train unattended on a main line, failure to set enough hand brakes, the lack of a backup safety mechanism, poor maintenance on the locomotive and several failures of training and oversight.
{snip}
Sun Jun 30, 2024: On June 29, 1864, 99 people died in the worst railway accident in Canadian history.
Wed Jul 6, 2022: On this day, July 6, 2013, a 73-car oil train derailed in the town of Lac-Mgantic, Quebec.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_6
• 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.
• 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.