GATINEAU, Quebec — Incidents in which train crews fail to recognize and follow signal indications remain one of Canada’s key transportation safety issues, the Transportation Safety Board said this week in updating its ongoing Watchlist of such issues. It also noted that fatigue management continues to be an issue across all modes of transportation.
“These are complex and long-standing issues, but they are not unsolvable,” Yoan Marier, chair of the TSB, said in a press release. “Real progress requires leadership, accountability, concerted efforts, and sustained action by both industry and regulators.”
The TSB has removed unplanned or uncontrolled rail movements, such as runaway railcars, from the list, saying Transportation Canada and the rail industry “have taken meaningful steps leading to a reduction in these occurrences.”
The TSB’s listing on the signal issue notes that the agency has called repeatedly for “physical fail-safe defences,” like the U.S. positive train control system, to address the problem. “Canadian railways operating in the U.S. are required to have PTC, but the same protection is not mandatory in Canada, creating a significant safety disparity on an integrated North American network.”
In all, seven items — including two that are aviation specific and one aimed at commercial fishing — make up the list. Others of a more general nature include a lack of formal safety management processes for some operators and concerns over Transport Canada surveillance to detect non-compliance with regulations or ensure corrective action. The board has also added substance use as an emerging issue, noting that drug and alcohol impairment have increased as factors in the marine and rail industries, according to investigations and consulations.
The full Watchlist is available here.
