Work halted until incident is investigated
Construction on Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light-rail network has been partially halted following an incident, according to a report.
A rail maintenance wagon lost control on the rails in the middle of the Champlain Bridge, reported the Montreal Gazette, citing Quebec’s commission on workplace standards, fairness, health and safety (CNESST). It gained speed until hitting a track derailer near the station.
The incident caused “significant” material damage, a CNESST spokesperson said, according to the report. Thankfully, no one was injured.
As a result, “a CNESST inspector decided to suspend work specifically related to the construction of the overhead catenary line on the entirety of the 67-kilometre site,” according to the spokesperson.
NouvLR – the engineering and construction partnership building the project – said the incident was caused by a failure in the maintenance vehicle’s connection system.
“The vehicle was stopped by the protective measures installed on the rails specifically to ensure the health and safety of our workers and the public in case of these unforeseeable events,” communications director Marc-André Lefebvre told the Montreal Gazette.
When using trailers or wagons, workers must use a tractor with enough power to both pull and stop the load safely, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
Work will remain on hold while the incident is investigated.
NouvLR will also need to develop a safety procedure for using the type of maintenance wagon in question.
"Work has been temporarily paused at the construction site to ensure the safety of workers and to allow an independent consultant to review the building's structural design and make recommendations for any necessary repairs," a spokesperson for Alberta Infrastructure said in a CBC report.
Previously, construction of a continuing care facility in Alberta was also halted due to safety concerns. The building in question is the Bridgeland Riverside Continuing Care Centre in Calgary's inner city.
