CN freight train derails in Richmond Hill

A CN freight train came off the rails in Richmond Hill on Saturday.

Two of the train’s 41 cars — one carrying steel and the other, sulfuric acid — derailed as it was travelling south at Elgin Mills Road, near Yonge Street around noon.

York Regional Police said no one was injured and there were no leaks or spills.

Emergency and CN crews responded to the area and are working to clear the tracks as soon as possible.

An investigation is underway.

In a CityNews exclusive story in February of 2014, Toronto residents raised concerns about the transport of dangerous freight — such as crude oil —  through densely populated neighbourhoods:

With more and more tanker trains running crude oil through midtown Toronto on the CP rail line, Cynthia Mulligan spoke with first responders about how prepared Toronto is for a disaster on the same scale as Lac Megantic.

“I don’t want to imagine. If we had that, it would be something I would never want to go through,” Peter Rotolo, operations commander with Toronto EMS told CityNews:

The CEO of CP Rail said he would like the see Dot-111 tanker cars taken off the rails, and yet they rumble through Toronto daily carrying dangerous materials like crude oil.

Cynthia Mulligan spoke with Centennial College emergency management instructor Richard Kinchlea about the need for continued discussions around rail safety and how to push for changes: