Process Safety Approach to Identify Opportunities for Enhancing Rail Transport Safety in Canada

The amount of dangerous goods (DG) transported by rail within Canada has increased by an average of approximately 25% since 2004, with a 42.5% increase in transported fuels and chemicals between 2011 and 2017. Further, movement of DG by rail is forecasted to continue increasing. Sustainable growth in the transport of dangerous goods (TDG) by rail will require acceptable safety levels. This study provides insight into key occurrence types for TDG and their causes, to better focus on risk control strategies, including measurement and control of leading and lagging safety indicators. This work also reviews current safety performance and Canadian railway incident occurrence databases. The results of the analyses suggested that the performance against lagging indicators currently being reported is adequate, including derailments and collisions (main and nonmain track), serious injuries (including fatalities), DG leakers, and releases. Furthermore, a list of the rail accidents with the greatest number of fatalities was used to calculate a crude estimate of societal risk associated with rail transportation. According to UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommendations, this analysis indicated that the estimated rail transport risks would be considered acceptable when assessed at a milepost scale. However, there are opportunities for further enhancing safety reporting, management, and performance.