November 2013

As I was getting ready for the train trip up the Bayline to Churchill, Manitoba – the day after our town hall meeting in Thompson – I was informed of a derailment right in the port of Churchill. As I rolled down the tracks back out of Churchill four days later, there was an accident in Wabowden resulting in leaking fluids and a hazardous mess to be excavated.

Less than two weeks later, I found myself en route to Churchill again for meetings, and again a derailment occurred – another incident in Wabowden. Waiting for my ride to the airport on the way home, I again got messages about a derailment in the port.

My experiences in the Manitoba’s north illustrate one of the critical reasons why we must reject a plan to ship crude oil by rail through the port of Churchill: the rail line is not safe. Even when attention is being focused on this railway, as it is now, and when increased scrutiny should motivate the company to do everything in its power to keep the train on the track, there are still accidents. Lots of accidents.

But we already knew there was a problem with this track.

The fact of the matter is that this line runs over permafrost, and it’s one of the only rail lines in the world that does. The freezing and thawing and shifting of this ground will continue, and the rail line will never be stable. Dr. Doug Clark, when presenting at our recent town hall meeting in Winnipeg, made sure to stress this point for people. This rail line, run over permafrost, will always be unstable. There is nothing we can do. Unless permafrost is eliminated one day due to climate change, the rails will remain risky.

Crews work to repair the rail line into the port of Churchill

The companies that have operated the rail line over the years have consistently found themselves kept busy with track problems. They’ve been busy with derailments. They’ve adapted by running the train very, very slow in some places, yet that doesn’t stop all the accidents.

There is only one way to ensure that there is no crude oil spill on the Bayline, in any of the communities en route, or in the port of Churchill: don’t ship crude oil though here by rail.

If you have not yet done so, please use our letter-writing tool to raise your voice, and keep crude oil off of these tracks.

-- Eric  
 

Top photo: A recent derailment and spilled grain near Wabowden, MB.