Passing of a stop signal
Canadian National Railway Company
Mile 69.4, CN Kingston Subdivision
Wesco
Cornwall, Ontario
The occurrence
On , a Canadian National Railway Company (CN) freight train (CN 372) was traveling east on the south main track of the CN Kingston Subdivision when it passed a signal displaying a stop indication at Mile 69.4 (Wesco) near Cornwall, Ontario.
At the same time, a VIA Rail passenger train (VIA 67) was traveling west on the same track toward the CN train.
When the CN operating crew realized that they were about to pass the stop signal, they immediately applied the emergency air brakes on their train and made an emergency radio broadcast as required. The VIA Rail locomotive engineer then promptly applied the air brakes, and the passenger train came to a controlled stop approximately 1000 feet from the CN freight train.
There were no injuries, no collision, and no derailment as a result of the emergency stop.
The TSB is investigating.
Investigation information
R23H0006
Passing of a stop signal
Canadian National Railway Company
Mile 69.4, CN Kingston Subdivision
Wesco
Cornwall, Ontario
Investigator-in-charge
Mr. Kim Wachs joined the TSB Rail/Pipeline Investigations Branch in 2021 as a Regional Senior Investigator.
Mr. Wachs retired from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) after over 35 years of service. In the years preceding his retirement, he was the Manager of Operating Practices with CP’s Safety & Regulatory Affairs department in Calgary, Alberta. During this time, he developed and maintained CP General Operating Instructions for Canada with the most recent version still being in use. He also developed and issued Operating and Summary Bulletins, assisted the Railway Association of Canada with revisions to the Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR), developed train handling guides for all CP mountain grade territories as well as various job aids/manuals for handling railway equipment.
While at CP, he also assisted in the development of new train designs and CP’s train area marshalling system (TrAM). He conducted train dynamics simulations and field testing related to the expanded use of locomotive distributed power and other rail industry technology upgrades such as locomotive trip optimizers, electronic controlled pneumatic brakes, and on-board locomotive camera systems.
Earlier in his career, he worked from Ontario to British Columbia in various operating roles where he was responsible for railway operations. This included responding to derailments, conducting wrecking activities and derailment investigations associated with all rail accidents and incidents on the territory. He also has extensive experience in performing and analyzing locomotive event recorder downloads for both regulatory compliance and derailment investigation.
Mr. Wachs is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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Class of investigation
This is a class 3 investigation. These investigations analyze a small number of safety issues, and may result in recommendations. Class 3 investigations are generally completed within 450 days. For more information, see the Policy on Occurrence Classification.
TSB investigation process
There are 3 phases to a TSB investigation
- Field phase: a team of investigators examines the occurrence site and wreckage, interviews witnesses and collects pertinent information.
- Examination and analysis phase: the TSB reviews pertinent records, tests components of the wreckage in the lab, determines the sequence of events and identifies safety deficiencies. When safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting until publication of the final report.
- Report phase: a confidential draft report is approved by the Board and sent to persons and corporations who are directly concerned by the report. They then have the opportunity to dispute or correct information they believe to be incorrect. The Board considers all representations before approving the final report, which is subsequently released to the public.
For more information, see our Investigation process page.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.