Could LRT crash in Calgary happen here?
Posted Sep 24, 2016 06:52:49 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary Transit is still investigating a light rail transit train crash in that city this week. They are looking at the condition of the vehicles, the track, signals, as well as the operator.
They believe the driver accelerated to full speed in the wrong direction causing derailment.
That driver remains in this hospital with serious injuries.
With our system currently being built, this has many wondering whether or not this could happen here.
Councillor Tom Galloway chairs the committee overseeing the rapid transit project in Waterloo Region, he tells 570 News that although our system is different than the one in Calgary, they aren’t ignoring the crash.
“Well of course, anytime there is an accident, whether it is a bus or an LRT train, you think ‘ok what could be the circumstances here?’ And we have had accidents with buses unfortunately, and we may have accidents with trains over time as well.”
He says they have already taken safety precautions to hopefully prevent something like this from happening with the ION.
“The entire project is governed by a project agreement (…) there are some provision in the contract that speak to safety.”
Galloway adds, Calgary Transit is looking into whether or not driver error had anything to do with the crash. Like Calgary’s system, the ION trains will be primarily operated by the driver, with the man or woman behind the controls in charge of how to react given the conditions around them.
