CN Rail Cars Carrying Oil on Fire After Derailment in Alberta

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-19/cn-rail-cars-carrying-oil-on-fire-after-derailment-in-alberta.html

A Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) train carrying crude oil and other fuel derailed west of Edmonton early today, causing an explosion and fire.

Firefighters are battling a blaze that erupted when one car containing liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, exploded, setting two others on fire, said Carson Mills, a spokesman for Parkland County, in a telephone interview. Thirteen cars derailed, he said.

Rail transport of crude is under heightened regulatory scrutiny in Canada and the U.S. after a train carrying oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July, killing 49. Companies face new rules that may raise costs, including a Canadian directive that requires testing and labeling of crude in rail cars.

Emergency responders evacuated about 49 people in the rural community of Gainford after they were notified of the derailment about 1 a.m., Mills said. The incident occurred about 90 kilometers (56 miles) west of the provincial capital.