CN says bridge repairs underway near Hope, B.C., after 60 CP freight cars derail

By iNFOTEL
September 16 2020 11:26 AM

CP2121157810 — Officials walk past the wreckage where a train carrying potash derailed near Hope, B.C,, on Monday, September 14, 2020. CN Rail says at least 20 rail cars carrying potash derailed today near Hope, B.C.The company says no injuries, fires or dangerous goods are involved. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

HOPE, B.C. – CN Rail says work is now underway to recover the 60 freight cars that derailed off a bridge Monday about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver.

A statement from the company says the damaged cars from the Canadian Pacific train are being removed from the site and repair work is underway on the bridge near Hope, B.C.

The CP freight train was hauling potash, a non-hazardous, potassium-rich type of salt, when the cars left the bridge, dumping some of the material into a nearby creek.

No one was hurt and CN says the spill is contained and water monitoring is continuing, while remediation work begins with the potash being dredged from the creek.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the derailment.

The CP train was on the CN line because the two companies share tracks through the narrow Fraser Canyon between Hope and Lytton.

This story by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 16, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)