Human error blamed for runaway railway car in Saskatoon

Human error is being blamed for arunaway railcar in Saskatoon last month, according to Canadian Pacific Railways.

At around3 a.m. CSTon March 27, the tail end car of a CP train rolled away from the Sutherland Yards in Saskatoon.

CP spokesperson Salem Woodrow saidthe empty railcar rolled away at a low speed "across the Central Avenue and 115 Avenue crossings. Both crossing warning systems activated automatically."

The train came to a stop on the main line. There were no injuries.

Transport Canada and the TransportationSafetyBoard (TSB)were immediately notified of the incident. Woodrow saidCP is fully cooperating with the investigation. The company has conducted itsown initial investigation and saidhuman error is to blame.

TSB spokesperson Chris Krepski saidthey weren't initially deployed to this incident but are now investigating.

"We're going to look at how the train was handled, the procedures in place during the switching operations and any information from rail traffic controls,"Krepski said. "It's about investigating all of those aspects."

This isn't the only runaway car the TSB is investigating in Saskatchewan. In early March, a railcar full of asphalt rolled away from the Co-op oil refinery complex in Regina and crossed seven streets before coming to a stop.

• Railcar full of asphalt rolls away from Regina refinery