Passenger trains cancelled after freight train derailment in Ontario

“Most of the cars were either empty, or had paper in them, or soybeans,” she said. “So, nothing to be too worried about.”

One of the cars had residual traces of petroleum, Vanderheyden said, but it wasn’t carrying a load of it when the derailment happened.

“That was not a concern, either,” she said.

Via Rail said the derailment had led to the cancellation of daily trains between Sarnia and Toronto on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as an early morning train from Sarnia to London, Ont., on Friday. It said trains would still be operating between Toronto and London, Ont.

The Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to the site of the derailment.

“The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence,” it said in a statement.

Some Strathroy residents said the derailment was the talk of the town on Wednesday.

Stu Solomon, a local business owner, said the crash happened near the community’s downtown core.

“There’s a lot of walking traffic going by to look,” he said. “That’s what most of the commotion is.”

James Poag, a jewellery shop owner in the town’s core said the emergency response to the derailment was “impressive for the size of the town.”

“The emergency response to keep everyone informed as to which crossings were opened was so well put together this morning,’ said Poag, who said that none of his employees had trouble getting to work this morning.

“It’s really caused less of an angry response than they might have gotten.”

The municipality had closed most of the railroad crossings linking north and south Strathroy shortly after the derailment occurred, but most crossings have since re-opened, Vanderheyden said.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Passenger trains cancelled after freight train derailment in Ontario

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