QUEBEC CITY, Quebec — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed investigators to the scene of a Dec. 28, 2025, derailment on the Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway near Sept-Îles, Quebec, the board announced today (Dec. 30).
The derailment has halted service on the QNS& which will be shut for seven to 10 days to allow repairs, the railroad’s parent company, the Iron Ore Co. of Canada, said in a Dec. 29 Facebook post. No one was injured. The company said “necessary arrangements are in place to support our team on the ground to ensure the work is completed safely, despite the expected weather conditions.”
The area is currently under a Yellow Alert issued by Environment Canada, indicating hazardous weather that may cause damage, disruption, or health impacts. The current storm could see more than 50 centimeters (19.6 inches) of total snowfall by Wednesday morning, along with temperatures of minus-12 Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) and winds gusting to 50 kilometers per hour (31 mph).
Tshiuetin Transportation, which operates passenger service on the QNS&L route between Emeril Junction, Labrador, and Schefferville, Quebec, has also suspended its operations because of the derailment. On its Facebook page, the company says it has arranged charter flights for passengers affected by the line closure, and that a freight train will operate on Dec. 31 to assure the delivery of essential goods and services to Schefferville and surrounding communities.
Tshiuetin General Manager James Berube told the CBC that the derailment involved a portion of a 244-car train and occurred about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. He said about 150 people have been stranded at either end of the passenger route, along with others who are camping in the area.
The remote QNS&L operation is noted for North America’s heaviest trains; a 2012 feature on the operation was reprinted in the January 2024 issue of Trains as part of the countdown to the magazine’s 1,000th issue.
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