Government of Canada announces additional funding for rail safety across the Nation, MP Taylor Bachrach speaks in House of Commons on rail investigations

It's been a busy few days for the Federal Transportation Minister
Omar Alghabra, who has been announcing additional rail 
safety funding and answering questions on rail safety in the
House of Commons

24 million dollars has been put aside for some 147 rail safety projects across Canada as Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra outlined the scope of new rail safety measures announced today. 

The program which is known as the Rail Safety Improvement program, will have 147 projects funded,  11 of which  are bookmarked for British Columbia; providing for a modest amount of work for this province, compared to the  larger amounts of Safety work destined for Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. 

The funding from today, comes following a Wednesday announcement that provided background towards new measures to improve rail conditions and reduce risks of derailments.

Those changes require railway companies to: 

Develop key performance indicators to help Transport Canada analyze track conditions and inform the department’s oversight activities

Strengthen requirements for railways to inspect and maintain crossties

Provide Transport Canada inspectors with access to additional information on company track standards so they can ensure that oversight is effective and consistent across Canada. 

Applications for the funding for the latest round of rail safety money is now being taken by the Federal Government, with August 1st the deadline for the program.

When it comes to Rail Safety, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bacharach also had some thoughts on the theme this week. 

Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday,  Mr. Bachrach made note of a Transportation Committee report released this week, with the Northwest MP asking the Minister why Rail corporations are allowed to investigate their own incidents.

The report which you can review here, covers a wide range of topics on rail safety and past incidents, as well as to provide for an extensive list of 33 Recommendations.

More notes on Railway operations in the Northwest can be reviewed here.

A look at the work of Mr. Bachrach in Ottawa can be examined from our archive page.