CP Rail derailment west of Banff sends cars into creek bed

Officials with the Transportation Safety Board and other environment officials are at the scene of a Canadian PacificRailway derailment near Banff, Alta.

The railway says 15 cars carrying grains and fly ash, a material used to make concrete, went off the track west of the town early Friday morning.

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A news release from the railway said there were no hazardous materials involved and no one was injured, but that the incident "did impact a small-low-level railway bridge and there are a few cars in the creek bed below the bridge."

The railway said some of the cars have been breached, and the company is working with Parks Canada and environmental crews on the cleanup.

Board spokesman John Cottreau said a number of the cars have landed in 40 Mile Creek, which flows into the Bow River about 200 metres downstream.

"Seven of them are in the water," Cottreau said. "The bridge is destroyed."

Environmental monitoring is taking place, CP said in the release.

"CP's emergency protocols were immediately enacted and all safety precautions and measures are being taken as our crews respond to the situation with local officials," the release stated.

Carolyn Stuparyk, a spokesperson with Environment & Sustainable Resource Development Alberta, said staff with the department have been dispatched to the scene, but have not yet reported what they have observed.

Neither the fly ash nor the grain, which she said are lentils, are classified as dangerous under the Dangerous Goods Act.

Stuparyk said TSB staff are at the site collecting information for the investigation into the cause of the derailment.