Repost from Reuters

CN Rail grain train derails in Alberta, no injuries

(Reuters) – Twenty-four grain cars on a Canadian National Railway train derailed in Alberta on Friday morning without injury or dangerous goods involved, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.

The derailment on the 104-car train took place in a rural area south of Irricana, Alberta, 63 kilometers (39 miles) northeast of Calgary, at 10 a.m. local time (1600 GMT). CN Rail crews were responding and will investigate the incident, company spokesman Patrick Waldron said.

Separately on Friday, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said it had launched an investigation into the death of a CN employee in a rail yard in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Thursday night.

CN Rail has suffered a spate of accidents in recent months, including a derailment of two crude-oil trains in the same area of northern Ontario within three weeks, raising the concern of government officials.

CN Rail’s safety record deteriorated sharply in 2014, reversing years of improvements, as accidents in Canada blamed on poor track conditions hit their highest level in more than five years, a Reuters analysis found. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Franklin Paul; and Peter Galloway)