Passenger train crashes into 2 semi-trailer trucks in Lower St. Lawrence region, no one injured

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the CN Police Service are investigating following a train collision overnight in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Que.

Quebec provincial police said the crash happened at around 1:30 a.m. on Monday when a Via Rail passenger train collided with the trailers of two transport trucks.

Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said 124 people, including passengers and crew, were on board the train at the time.

“Fortunately enough, there was no one that got injuries,” she said, adding the train was evacuated and passengers were taken to a local community centre in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamourska, located in Quebec’s Lower St. Lawrence region.

Bilodeau explained that the two trucks had pulled into a parking lot near Highway 289, but somehow parked too close to the tracks.

Bilodeau couldn’t say whether the tracks were visible or covered by snow, but said the truck drivers would have had to go over the railway to access the parking lot.

“So probably they felt [the tracks] when they entered the parking lot before backing up,” she said.

Following the collision, the train which was heading to Halifax after departing from Quebec City, was evacuated due to lack of heating. Passengers and train personnel were taken by bus to a local community centre.

Bilodeau said there was some damage to the tracks, as well as the train itself, which could lead to service delays for other passenger trains.