Safety regulators critical of government response to fatal train derailment

GATINEAU, Que. – Transport Canada is getting a low grade from safety regulators about addressing recommendations from an Ontario passenger train derailment that left three dead.

The Transportation Safety Board is accusing the government of a lack of firm action in addressing rail safety issues arising from the February 2012 train derailment in Burlington.

Three locomotive engineers died and dozens of passengers were injured when the Niagara Falls to Toronto train went off the tracks.

In a news release issued on Friday, the TSB says it has called for video cameras to be installed in locomotives and a fail-safe mechanism to stop the train if it misses a signal.

TSB chairwoman Wendy Tadros says enacting the recommendations would reduce the risk of another accident like the Burlington disaster.

But the TSB says Transport Canada is only making video cameras voluntary and has only promised to study installing fail-safe mechanisms.

The TSB says there must be a clear action plan to ensure trains will automatically slow down and stop when they are supposed to.