NEW – Federal: New safety measures presented for railway inspections and operating rules

On March 20, 2021, Transport Canada (TC) presented two new Ministerial Orders, Order 21-01 and Order 21-02, which direct companies to implement safety measures and table changes to the Railway Locomotive Inspection and Safety Rules and the Canadian Rail Operating Rules.

The first Order is issued pursuant to section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act (RSA) and requires all national and local railway companies listed in the Order to implement the safety measures outlined therein, which are designed to ensure that an accident caused by the unintentional release of the air brakes does not reoccur.

The second Ministerial Order requires railway companies and local railway companies to amend the Railway Locomotive Inspection and Safety Rules and the Canadian Rail Operating Rules. These amendments will include setting performance standards for locomotives equipped with roll-away protection, which is a feature designed to apply the air brakes when movement is detected, and revisions that will clarify when a train is unattended and must be secured as per the rules. This latter element is intended to provide greater precision to the definition of attended versus unattended equipment and give greater certainty to railway companies and their employees.

For general questions, please contact Sean Rogers, Director, Regulatory Affairs at sean.rogers@tc.gc.ca. To address technical aspects on this issue, please contact Stephanie Lines, Director, Operations Management at stephanie.lines@tc.gc.ca.