The Transportation Safety Board is investigating after a CP freight train derailed early Sunday morning in midtown Toronto.
The derailment, which happened near Dupont Street and Spadina Road around 5:20 a.m., occurred after two trains collided, officials said. No injuries have been reported.
“It was discovered that two trains going in opposite directions had side-swiped each other,” said Toronto Fire district chief David Taylor.
According to the TSB, an eastbound train collided with two westbound locomotives.
Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said during a federal cabinet retreat on Sunday that the derailment caused a 1,200-litre diesel fuel leak. CP spokesperson Martin Cej said the leak has since been contained. Both CP and Toronto police say there is no threat to the public or the environment.
No dangerous goods were originally reported on the train. But TSB spokesperson Chris Krepski later said several materials on the derailed cars are considered dangerous goods, including some non-flammable gasses under pressure, compressed nitrogen, aerosol containers, wet-cell bats and some alcoholic beverages.
Cej said preliminary investigations point to human error as the possible cause of the derailment.
Residents in the area are used to trains passing, by many were alarmed by the sound of Sunday morning’s collision.
“I felt scared,” said resident Raffa Weyman. “I felt like there was an earthquake because it was a whole other sound.
“I felt like my house was on top of the train tracks instead of next to the train tracks.”
For years, residents have been voicing their concerns about trains running through the heavily populated area, ever since a train carrying crude oil exploded in Lac Megantic, Que., killing 47 people.
“We’re incredibly frightened,” said John McGrath, spokesperson for the neighbourhood’s residents’ association. “What could have happened if dangerous goods such as oil had been on the train? What would have happened then?
“It’s been three years since Lac Megantic and nothing has been learned.”
In a letter sent to the Minister of Transportation in April, Toronto Mayor John Tory and several city councilors called for greater rail safety in the Greater Toronto Area.
“This is a warning call,” McGrath said. “This is warning that the next one could be even worse.”
The TSB did not comment on the cause of the derailment.
Meanwhile, Tory’s office said in a statement on Sunday that he “remains concerned about this issue and has been advocating for increased rail safety measures with the federal government.
“The Mayor will continue to work with Minister Freeland and Minister Garneau to ensure the safety and security of the people of Toronto."
With files from CTV Toronto’s Tamara Cherry
