Service resumes on Quebec-Labrador rail line following IOC train derailment

Traffic has resumed on the Quebec North Shore and Labrador rail line after cleanup efforts following a derailment on Dec. 28.

The line, which is owned by the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), reopened at midnight on Monday at reduced speed, gradually ramping up to normal.

"Thanks to the exceptional efforts of our employees, the interruption was minimized despite challenging winter conditions," read a statement from IOC posted on Facebook Sunday evening.

The company said teams on the ground worked more than 700 hours to complete the cleanup and repair work needed to reopen the line.

The company has yet to comment on the cause of the derailment, but said no injuries were reported.

Tshiuetin Transportation Inc., which operates a passenger train service on the train line, had also cancelled its runs following the incident and switched to charter flights instead to help affected passengers.

The company's general manager said about 150 people were waiting for pick ups on either end of the route, as well as dozens of people who were camping in the area.

The rail line connects Labrador City with the Quebec port of Sept-Îles on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

It saw another derailment in 2014, when a landslide north of Sept-Îles forced three locomotives and several cars into a river. One person was killed.

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