British Columbia

Small fuel spill reported after freight train derails in Delta, B.C.

No injuries occured, according to train operator BNSF Railway.

Transportation safety board of Canada says it is investigating a 'train collision and derailment'

A train is tipped over onto the grass beside the track and several people wearing high visibility vests stand around.
Two locomotives and five cars derailed near Highway 91 in Delta early Sunday morning. (Shane MacKichan)

Canada's Transportation Safety Board says it is sending an investigator to probe a train collision and derailment in Metro Vancouver, while a spokesperson for the company says no one was injured and there's no threat to the public.

A statement from the board says the incident involved two trains operated by Texas-headquartered BNSF Railway at a subdivision in New Westminster, B.C.

BNSF spokesperson Lena Kent issued a statement Sunday morning saying two locomotives and five cars carrying a variety of freight derailed at approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

The statement also said no hazardous materials were compromised.

A derailed train leans on track infrastructure.
BNSF says the derailment happened near Highway 91 in Delta. (Shane MacKichan)


However, Kent said in a later statement to CBC News that fuel from one of the locomotives had spilled.

"We did discover some of [the] fuel from the locomotive that leaked and we are recovering any spilled fuel and remediating the site around the locomotive," she said.

A man wearing a hard hat stares at a derailed train.
A BNSF Railway spokesperson said that no hazardous materials were compromised as a result of the derailment. (Shane MacKichan)

Kent says there were no injuries to crew members, there's no threat to the public, and the cause of the incident is under investigation.

She added that it happened near Highway 91, south of Vancouver, where the line was closed to rail traffic Sunday to allow the cars to be "re-railed.''

The track closures meant that the Amtrak Cascades passenger train service was cancelled between Vancouver and Seattle early Sunday.

With files from The Canadian Press