CN Rail Says Train Stopped Suddenly To Inspect The Tracks

Wednesday evening’s incident involving an empty CN Rail grain train was not a derailment, as emergency personnel first expected, but rather was a minor incident in which the westbound train came to a sudden stop due to a perceived safety problem.

In a statement from CN Rail to MJ Independent the rail company described what occurred on Wednesday evening as “a minor incident” involving a westbound train within the City of Moose Jaw. The incident was safety related.

The westbound train made a sudden stop just prior to 8:30 pm with the end of the train just behind the Laurier Apartments and the engine or front of the train a few hundred meters from the CN crossing east of Thatcher Drive West near the Iron Bridge Estates neighbourhood.

The Moose Jaw Fire Department was dispatched to Wednesday evening’s incident and shortly later returned to the fire hall - MJ Independent file photo

The sudden stop closed the rail crossing on 9th Avenue NW just south of the Lynbrook Golf Course and had the Moose Jaw Fire Department (MJFD) dispatched to the scene. Crews were back in the fire hall around 9 pm.

“This minor incident was not a derailment, but rather a train coming to a rapid stop in order to inspect the tracks. No dangerous goods were involved.

A crossing was briefly closed in order to have CN’s crews safely and diligently inspecting the infrastructure. The crossing was promptly reopened after the inspection was completed.

No further action was needed and rail traffic resumed shortly after the inspection,” CN Rail said in their e-mailed statement.