Federal agency links Quebec train derailment to temperature swings

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it could not identify the exact cause of a freight train derailment in northern Quebec last December, but it believes a broken rail likely played a role. According to the agency, the rail may have failed after being stressed by sharp temperature changes and by the earlier passage of another train with a wheel defect. The IOC freight train, carrying iron ore, derailed on Dec. 28 about 60 kilometres north of SeptIles on Quebec’s North Shore after an automatic emergency brake was activated. Twentynine railcars and one locomotive left the tracks, but no one was injured. The report says most of the spilled iron ore did not reach the frozen surface of the nearby Nipissis River. It also notes that the line recorded 47 brokenrail incidents in 2025, with many occurring in the coldest months, and that the track had been inspected three days before the derailment without any defects being found.