Quebec passenger train derails after striking tractor trailers near tracks

A VIA Rail passenger train carrying 124 passengers and crew from Montreal to Halifax was derailed early Monday after it struck the rear ends of two tractor trailers reportedly parked too close to the rails near the town of St-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska in the lower St. Lawrence region.

Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Frédéric Deshaies said the incident occurred at about 1:35 a.m. Despite the fact two of the train’s locomotives derailed, there were no injuries reported in the train or among the four persons occupying the two parked trucks that were struck by it.

First responders moved everyone involved in the incident to the local town hall to keep warm.

The incident will be investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and CN police while a spill of diesel fuel from one of the locomotives will be examined by provincial environment officials.