This presentation was given under the curriculum of PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. PRESENTATION
ON
LAC-MÉGANTIC
RAIL DISASTER
By- Aishwarya Vijay, 6th Sem, EIC Engg.

2. INTRODUCTION
• The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred in the
town of Lac-Mégantic, located in the Eastern
Townships of the Canadian province of Quebec on
July 6, 2013.
• An unattended 74-car freight train carrying crude
oil rolled downhill and derailed, resulting in the fire
and explosion of multiple tank cars.

3. BACKGROUND
 The route
• The railway line passing through Lac-Mégantic is owned by the United
States-based Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railways (MMA).
 The train
• The freight train was designated "MMA 2" and was 4,701 ft (1,433 m)
long and weighed 10,287 tones (10,125 long tons; 11,339 short tons).
• The train was composed of five head-end locomotives, one remote-
control "VB" car (a former caboose) used to house the Locotrol
equipment necessary for MMA’s single engineer train operation, one
loaded box car used as a buffer car followed by 72 non-pressure
dangerous goods DOT-111 tank cars loaded with petroleum crude oil
(Class 3, UN 1267). Each tank car was filled with 113,000 liters
(25,000 imp gal; 30,000 US gal) of crude oil.

4. • The oil, shipped by World Fuel Services subsidiary Dakota Plains Holdings
Incorporated from New Town, North Dakota, originated from the Bakken
formation. The destination was the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, New
Brunswick.
• Shipment of the oil was contracted to Canadian Pacific Railway, which
transported the oil on CPR tracks from North Dakota to the CPR yard in
Côte-Saint-Luc, a suburb of Montreal. CPR sub-contracted MMA to
transport the oil from the CPR yard in Côte Saint-Luc to the MMA yard in
Brownville Junction. CPR also sub-contracted New Brunswick Southern
Railway to transport the oil from the MMA yard in Brownville Junction to
the final destination at the refinery in Saint John.

5. REASONS OF DERAILMENT
AND EXPLOSION
• With all the locomotives shut down, the air compressor no longer
supplied air to the air brake system. As air leaked from the brake
system, the main air reservoirs were slowly depleted, gradually reducing
the effectiveness of the locomotive air brakes. At 00:56, the air pressure
had dropped to a point at which the combination of locomotive air
brakes and hand brakes could no longer hold the train, and it began to
roll downhill toward Lac-Mégantic, just over seven miles away, without
the locomotive lights on.
• The track was not equipped with signals to alert the rail traffic signal the
presence of a runaway train. The train entered the town of Lac-
Mégantic at high speed. The train derailed in downtown Lac-Mégantic
at 01:14.

6. • The locomotives and the VB car were found intact, separated from the
rest of the train approximately 800 meters (0.50 mi) east of the
derailment site. The equipment that derailed included 63 of the 72 tank
cars as well as the buffer car. Nine tank cars at the rear of the train
remained on the track and were pulled away from the derailment site and
did not explode. Almost all of the derailed tank cars were damaged, many
having large breaches. About six million liters of petroleum crude oil was
quickly released; the fire began almost immediately.
• The unmanned train derailed in an area near the grade grossing where
the rail line crosses Frontanec Street, the town's main street. This location
is approximately 600 meters (2,000 ft) northwest of the railway bridge
over the Chaudier river and is also immediately north of the town's
central business district.

7. • Around 150 firefighters were deployed to the scene, described as looking
like a "war zone". Some were called in from as far away as the city of
Sherbrooke, Quebec and as many as eight trucks carrying 30 firefighters
were dispatched from Franklin County, Maine, United States (Chesterville,
Eustis, Farmington, New Vineyard, Phillips, Rangeley and Strong). The fire
was contained and prevented from spreading further in the early
afternoon.
• The local hospital went to Code Orange,
anticipating a high number of casualties and
requesting reinforcements from other medical
centers, but they received no seriously injured
patients.
RESPONSE TO DISASTER

8. • After 20 hours, the centre of the fire was still inaccessible to firefighters
and five pools of fuel were still burning. Special fire-retardant foam was
brought from an Ultramar refinery in Lévis, aiding progress by firefighters
on the Saturday night. Five of the unexploded cars were doused with
high-pressure water to prevent further explosions, and two were still
burning and at risk of exploding 36 hours later. The train's event recorder
was recovered at around 15:00 the next day and the fire was finally
extinguished in the evening, after burning for nearly two days.
• A red zone was declared where evacuees could not return to their homes
because of the ongoing investigation.

9. CASUALITIES AND DAMAGE
• Forty-two bodies were found and transported to Montreal to be
identified. 39 of those were identified by investigators by late August
2013 and the 40th in April 2014. The bodies of five presumed victims
were never found. It is possible that some of the missing people were
vaporized by the explosions.
• At least 30 buildings were destroyed in the centre of town, including the
town's library, a historic former bank, and other businesses and houses.
115 businesses were destroyed, displaced, or rendered inaccessible.
• The municipal water supply for Lac-Mégantic was shut down on the
evening of the explosion because of a leak inside the blast zone, requiring
trucks carrying drinking water, though the leak was repaired overnight but
a precautionary boil-water advisory was issued.

10. Lac-Mégantic rail disaster
IMAGE REFLECTING AFTERMATH

11. THANK YOU