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RICHMOND, B.C. – The Transportation Safety Board says a mistake by a Canadian Pacific Railway supervisor set off a crash between a freight train and a railway work vehicle in Cache Creek, B.C.

The board’s report says the supervisor was inspecting the main tracks on Dec. 29, 2022, in a vehicle that can operate on both roads and rail when he noticed a defect that needed repair.

It says that while the man was repairing the track, an eastbound freight train crashed into the unoccupied vehicle, but no one was hurt.

The board says that its investigation found when the supervisor noticed the problem, he requested a second permit allowing him to be on the tracks, but he cancelled the wrong permission, leaving the track he was working on unprotected.

The board says it issued a safety advisory to CP Rail, saying its verification procedures for cancelling electronic track occupancy permits were “less rigorous” than using their radio to cancel a permit.

The board says the railway has confirmed it had implemented safety changes, including enhancing its electronic application for such permits.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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REGINA – Scott Moe says his Saskatchewan Party would issue a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if it forms government again on Oct. 28.

Moe says the move is in response to a recent complaint that some biological males changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.

He says school divisions should already have change room policies, but a provincial policy would ensure all have the rule in place.

The Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation last year that requires parents consent to children under 16 using different names or pronouns at school.

The law has faced backlash from some LGBTQ+ advocates who argue it violates Charter rights and could cause teachers to out or misgender children.

NDP Leader Carla Beck has said if elected her party would repeal the legislation, and she says Moe’s proposed locker room policy would make already vulnerable kids more vulnerable.

Moe said a directive would come from his education minister.

“If we are re-elected, I’ll be very clear, there will be a directive that would come from the Minister of Education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls,” Moe said Thursday at an election campaign news conference in Regina.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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MONTREAL – Passengers riding on Via Rail’s most heavily travelled corridor may endure a slower trip after Canadian National Railway Co. imposed restrictions on Via’s new trains.

CN last Friday said that Via’s recently arrived Siemens trainsets running between Montreal and Windsor, Ont., must lower their speed at public crossings.

Via says the rule — previously in effect only between Montreal and Quebec City — is causing delays of about 30 minutes per train on average.

It says no incidents at level crossings have been reported since the 16 Venture trains now operating first hit the rails two years ago.

CN, which owns most of the tracks used by Via in Central Canada, says it made the decision when it learned the new trains were traversing routes they had previously steered clear of.

The company says that in order to maintain higher speeds through crossings, Via would need to add cars to the new trainsets in order to raise their axle count for reasons tied to signalling and speed detection.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)

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