Derailments spurs calls for track relocation

The Wanup train derailment in June, and especially the rail tragedy in Lac Mégantic in July, has given new impetus to calls to reroute Sudbury's downtown rail lines around the city.

The most recent proposal is from Imagine Sudbury, but it's an idea that has been discussed for decades. The group estimates it would cost about close to $500 million. In an email to Northern Life, Laurentian University Prof. David Robinson says the Lac Mégantic disaster, in which 47 people were killed, shows the dangers of having rail lands downtown.

A similar accident in a much more populous city such as Sudbury would be far more devastating.

“All the mayor and council have to do to get the process moving is to start talking about the dangers right now,” Robinson writes. “The community would be interested and would stay interested. The fuss would bring CP to the table. FedNor is already interested in the project as an economic development project and is waiting for the city to start the ball rolling.”

The plan was discussed at a July 31 roundtable in Sudbury when NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and party transportation critic Olivia Chow came to Sudbury to talk rail issues. Mulcair said relocating the tracks is a long-term issue, with the priority now on steps that can be taken quickly to improve safety.

“Ultimately, that might be an important thing to do, especially in certain centres based on population and the level of danger,” he told reporters.

The party is calling on the federal government to restore funding for train inspections, and to give municipalities the right to know when a train carrying hazardous goods passes through their city. Sudbury MP Glenn Thibeault said unlike moving the tracks out of downtown, these are steps than can be done now.

“Until that happens, we need to know what's on those rails,” Thibeault added.

Chow agreed, adding the current system can't continue.

“Right now, we don't even know what dangerous materials are coming through the downtown core. That's the absurdity of it ... They have a right to know.”