Rail operator says rock slide may have caused B.C. derailment that spilled jet fuel

Rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City says a rock slide may be partially to blame for a derailment near Kamloops, B.C., that resulted in the spill of more than 70,000 litres of jet fuel alongside a local lake.

CPKC Indigenous relations and government affairs director Mike LoVecchio said during a public information meeting in Savona, B.C., Monday night that the exact cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

LoVecchio said the Transportation Safety Board's investigation could take years to complete, but a rock slide is among the elements being "closely considered."

The derailment on Nov. 1 near Cherry Creek, about 20 kilometres west of Kamloops, happened in one of the busiest rail corridors between Calgary and Vancouver.

Two of the 17 rail cars involved were carrying jet fuel that was released in the derailment, and LoVecchio says the spill has been the focus of the rail operator's response since the beginning.

CPKC initially estimated that more than 80,700 litres had spilled, but has since calculated a total of 70,536 litres.

No one was injured in the derailment, and the rail operator says water sampling at nearby Kamloops Lake has shown results remaining below B.C's drinking-water quality guidelines, while testing is ongoing.

"Crews today completed the removal of the last remaining rail car from site," LoVecchio said at the meeting. "Additional railway material remains to be cleared away, but the removal of the final car represents the end of our on-site recovery." 

He added that the operator has seen reports suggesting a rock slide may have contributed to the derailment, but no official cause has been determined.

"Our investigation involves eliminating potential causes as well as naming them," LoVecchio said. "That takes time. 

"Our analysis thus far does not indicate, however, that there's any connection to other incidents along the main line."

The meeting was attended by several Kamloops-area residents and local officials, including former Tk'emlups te Secwepemc chief Shane Gottfriedson, who lives in nearby Tobiano, B.C.

Gottfriedson told the meeting that he is concerned about track maintenance near waterways, given that a rock slide is a possible cause.

"If this was a rock slide and there was regular inspections, there would have been a flag that came up and would have stopped all of the traffic," he said, adding that he wants to know how much maintenance and capital have been put into the rail corridor where the derailment happened.