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Ottawa warns of dangerously exhausted train crews as Alberta ramps ...
https://www.cbc.ca/.../fatigue-transport-canada-railways-oil-shipments-lac-megantic-sa...
https://www.cbc.ca/.../fatigue-transport-canada-railways-oil-shipments-lac-megantic-sa...
Dec 2, 2018 -
An internal Transport Canada document warns of the safety risks posed by exhausted crew members on trains, even as Alberta pursues a plan to ratchet up already-booming shipments of oil-by-rail.
Federal work rules in the rail industry, dating from 2002, "are not effective in preventing fatigue due to work schedules and do not adequately mitigate the risks of fatigue," says the May 2018 memo.
"… fatigue is managed by a patchwork of approaches, most of which are outside TC's [Transport Canada's] control."
The memo, obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act, says current regulations on mandatory work-rest periods in the rail industry fail to account for major advances in the science of fatigue over the last 15 years.
[...]
Transport Canada declined to indicate when Canadians can expect to see beefed-up regulations governing fatigue in the rail industry.
"Pending regulatory changes, the department will continue to manage fatigue and fitness for duty through its ongoing oversight activities," said spokesperson Sau Sau Liu.
"We will not hesitate to take enforcement action or any other measures to address risks between now and when regulatory changes are made."
As Alberta prepares to increase oil-by-rail, Ottawa issues warning about crew fatigue | CBC News
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says her government will buy rail tankers to help ship more crude, since pipeline capacity is strained. But Transport Canada has yet to beef up the rules on rail crew fatigue, even as shipments hit new records. An internal memo, obtained by CBC News, spells out the...
www.cbc.ca