TSB investigating after 2 CN trains crash in Alberta Sunday morning

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is sending investigators to Edson. Alta., after two trains crashed into each other and derailed Sunday morning.

Two Canadian National Railway (CN) trains — one carrying grain, another transporting batteries — travelling at "low speed" sideswiped around 7 a.m. MT, causing several grain cars to derail, according to spokespeople from CN and the Alberta RCMP.

An RCMP spokesperson said police got a call around 7:15 a.m. about the crash, which occurred near Highway 47 and Township Road 530, southwest of Edson — about 195 kilometres west of Edmonton.

No injuries were reported and there are no environmental concerns as a result of the crash, according to the RCMP. The CN spokesperson said no hazardous materials were involved, and no fires ignited as a result of the crash.

The CN Police Service — which has law enforcement authority on, or within 500 metres of CN property — has since taken over the investigation, the RCMP spokesperson said.

The tracks remain closed, the CN spokesperson said, and CN crews and local first responders are still on scene.

Meanwhile, the TSB is deploying a "team of investigators" to the area to "gather information and assess" the incident, according to a news release the agency issued Sunday. A spokesperson told CBC News the only details the agency could share were in the release.

The TSB, an independent federal agency, investigates air, marine, pipeline and rail transportation incidents to improve transportation safety. It does not assign fault, nor determine liability.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation, the CN spokesperson said.

The company will release more information when it becomes available, it added.