One passenger said there were chunks of ice and rocks flying by his window when a VIA passenger train struck something just east of Brighton on Saturday, February 2, 2019.
Brien Convery was heading from Toronto to Queen’s University in Kingston to speak at a conference along with sports commentator Michael Landsberg who was to be the keynote speaker at the mental wellness conference for students.
Convery was in the second last car on the train and said the eastbound passenger train collided with something on the tracks around 10 a.m.
“You felt it the impact,” said Convery speaking to Today’s Northumberland by phone while on the train shortly before 3 p.m.
“We definitely ran over something.”
“There was chunks of rocks and ice flying down the side of the train and some of it hit the windows.”
From the moment of impact until the passenger train made an emergency stop at Lawson Settlement Road east of Brighton it was 2.25 kilometres.
During that amount of time, most of the 1,600 gallons in the diesel fuel tank had spilled onto the railway tracks after being ruptured. One window near Convery shattered.
“We still don’t know what we hit.”
The train had one engine at the front, then several passenger cars, then another engine and four passenger cars behind it.
One train was headed to Kingston while the others destination was Ottawa.
After the train made an emergency stop, passengers were told to disembark from the four cars to join passengers with the front train.
“You could smell the fuel,” said Convery when passengers were along the tracks.
Confined to the passenger car for several hours, Convery said there was, “no food, no water, no heat, ovens aren’t working and people are getting angry.”
People were allowed to use the washrooms, but the toilets didn’t flush.
“Everyone is getting tired of it.”
A number of people were asking VIA staff on the train why they couldn’t bring buses to shuttle passengers since the train was stopped right at a crossing, but “they said “no” that wasn’t going to be an option.”
Brighton Fire Chief Rick Caddick said it was a bit of deju vu for some members of the Brighton Fire Department when notified of the incident.
Caddick wasn’t on the department at the time, but in 1994 a eastbound passenger train erupted in flames after striking an object on the tracks.
The object turned out to be a one metre piece of rail that was placed on the tracks and ruptured the fuel tanks causing a fire that engulfed several passenger cars.
Several people suffered minor injuries during the incident including cut hands from exiting the passenger cars through windows.
“It was very similar, but there was no fire that ensued this time.”
“It brought back that memory to many members of our department. Thankfully today no one was hurt other than the one individual who was not on the train and we hear those injuries certainly weren’t life threatening.”
Fire crews were initially called about 10:15 a.m. to a medical call for an individual who had been struck by something near the railway.
The patient was brought out to the Boes Road by other workers and was transferred to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Shortly after fire crews arrived back at the firehall they were dispatched to Lawson Settlement Road for the diesel spill.
“We know the tank was punctured several times. It was some sort of object that did that.”
Environmental experts were brought in to try and clean up what they could of the fuel spill that scattered over two kilometres.
Damage was on both sides of the VIA train along with underneath.
CN crews worked to remove several pieces from underneath the rear passenger cars of the train. Along with at least one broken window there was damage on the opposite side of the train.
Today’s Northumberland managed to get to the scene of what appeared to be the damaged vehicle.
A OPP vehicle was near a CN pickup truck with obvious damage.
A passenger taillight was broken, the back window was shattered and a metal guard had an obvious hole in it where it appears something went through.
A passenger side mirror was also damaged.
After the damaged engine with the four cars were separated it was still approximately one hour before the train carrying passengers left the crossing.
The damaged engine and four cars remained at the scene.
For Convery who was supposed to arrive in Kingston at 11 a.m., he ended up arriving at 7:30 p.m. with the help from a bus and taxi.
It’s unknown if the Federal Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
VIA incident 1994 incident http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/1994/r94t0357/r94t0357.pdf
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
