No one was hurt and there was no risk to the public’s safety, but the derailment of eight empty grain cars along Front Street did interrupt traffic Wednesday morning.
The derailment happened just after midnight when cars jumped the tracks at the Front Street overpass near the Fraser River Bridge crossing, according to Canadian National Railway, owner of the train.
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr, co-chair of the railway community advisory panel, contacted the Record around after 4:30 a.m. about the derailment and what clean-up efforts were underway.
“Heavy equipment is arriving to move some of the cars back onto the track and some may have to be cut up due to restricted crane access and wheel damage. The bridge structure is sound and there is no release of any product,” he wrote in his email.
Because of the incident, Front Street was closed to all traffic for several hours. It reopened shortly before 10 a.m., according to the New Westminster Police Department.
No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were spilled.
With files from Canadian Press
