Train derailment at Winnipeg overpass could close McPhillips Street for several days
Darren Bernhardt | CBC News | Posted: April 21, 2023 1:30 PM | Last Updated: April 21, 2023
Integrity of bridge, built in 1912, needs to be assessed, Winnipeg police Sgt. Jay Murray says
A train derailment involving 12 cars has closed one of Winnipeg's busiest streets — and it could stay that way for days.
The derailment happened just before 8 a.m. Friday on the Canadian Pacific Railway train overpass above McPhillips Street, forcing the city to close McPhillips between Logan and Jarvis avenues.
Some of the derailed cars are on the bridge and others are on the approach to it, said Scott Wilkinson, assistant chief for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.
Images from the scene show some cars leaning at sharp angles, but none appear to have fallen over.
Canadian Pacific spokesperson Stacy Patenaude said in an email to CBC News that all of the derailed cars did, in fact, remain upright.
Emergency crews who first responded to the incident set up on both sides of the McPhillips underpass to block traffic while a number of nearby businesses were evacuated as a precaution. They have since been allowed to reopen.
A drone was launched by the fire-paramedic service at one point to get a closer overhead view of the scene and assess the danger before the evacuation was cancelled, Wilkinson said.
The cause of the derailment is unknown. There are no injuries.
WATCH | Drone footage of train derailment on McPhillips Street:
"[CP] regrets the inconvenience the incident has caused to motorists," Patenaude said in the email.
The Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet Friday that it has sent investigators to Winnipeg, but had no other information to share at this point.
'No obvious leaks': WFPS
Derailments within city limits don't happen too frequently because of the lower speeds trains travel at, Wilkinson said. If they do occur, it's normally a minor problem involving something like a few wheels slipping from the track.
"Unfortunately, this wasn't the same," he said.
The cars were carrying a petroleum oil compound — bitumen — which is not considered hazardous, Wilkinson said. Emergency crews do not believed any of it spilled.
"We have no obvious leaks at this time."
Canadian Pacific is working to get the derailed cars back on the tracks but there is some concern about the integrity of bridge, which was built in 1912.
The underpass will be closed for a few days, at least, while it is assessed, police Sgt. Jay Murray said.
"Certainly for rush hour, coming home today, motorists are going to want to make alternate arrangements," he said.
The overpass accommodates seven railway tracks that spread out into dozens of tracks on either side. The Canadian Pacific Railway marshalling yard is on the east and the Weston Shops yard is on the west.
The derailment hasn't blocked the other tracks, so trains are still able to move across the overpass.
Theodoros Chatziathanasaidis, owner of Georges Burgers and Subs at the corner of McPhillips and Logan, said the initial delay on Friday due to the evacuation put his business a little behind for the day.
But that's nothing compared to the impact he expects if the street remains closed for some time.
"This definitely is going to affect a lot of businesses, so that's bad news for me," he said. "Hopefully it gets back to normal before that."
His restaurant is at the corner of a lot that includes a gas bar and small strip mall. Since he opened in 2020, Chatziathanasaidis has had to roll with the punches — several of them.
It was only recently that things returned to normal after closures and restrictions due to COVID-19 regulations.
"It's not easy to own a business, especially a restaurant," he said. "You have to be willing to take the hit and not quit."
Corrections:
- An earlier version of this story said some of the product in the derailed cars had spilled. In fact, it is not believed any of it spilled, according to the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. April 21, 2023 5:02 PM