Canadian Pacific launches criminal probe into Montreal derailment

MONTREAL – Canadian Pacific is heading a criminal investigation with the Montreal police into a trail derailment that occurred in Montreal on Thursday.

A spokesman for CP says preliminary results of the company’s probe reveal the rail cars may have been tampered with, resulting in the cars moving.

The company said five empty, flat rail cars had been parked at an east-end rail yard since December 2014.

CP said after the empty wagons started to move a safety system sprung into action and purposefully derailed the cars to prevent them from getting too far from the rail yard.

One rail car landed next to a home, causing damage, but there were no injuries.

CP said the wagons had been stored in line with Transport Canada regulations.

The Transportation Safety Board is also investigating to determine the circumstances of the derailment, which occurred at a low speed.

A spokesman with the Montreal police force referred all questions about the probe to CP, saying the rail company is leading the investigation.

“Results of the (railway police) preliminary investigation indicate that the rail cars may have been tampered with, resulting in the movement of the cars,” said spokesman Martin Cej in a statement issued Friday.