Alcohol a factor in 2021 Ontario train crash: TSB [Video]

Alcohol consumption played a role in a 2021 head-on crash between two freight trains that left several crew members injured and destroyed hundreds of feet of track in Prescott Ont., the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada says.

The Sept. 2, 2021 crash saw four locomotives and 16 cars derail after a CN train heading west to Toronto (train 149) crashed into another CN train (train 532) on a side track near Edward Street in the town of Prescott.

One crew member was seriously injured while another sustained minor injuries in the crash, the TSB said in a report released Wednesday.

The report says a manually operated switch connecting the side track to the mainline had been routed incorrectly and cites alcohol consumption by the rail traffic controller (RTC) as a contributing factor in the crash.

“Under CN’s Policy to Prevent Workplace Alcohol and Drug Problems, the RTC submitted to a mandatory post-accident breath alcohol …