New charges brought in 2013 Quebec railway disaster

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian government filed new charges Monday in the runaway oil train explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec two years ago.

Regulatory agency Transport Canada said the charges have to do with an insufficient number of handbrakes being applied and that the handbrakes were not tested properly.

Much of downtown Lac Megantic was destroyed on July 6, 2013, by a raging fire caused when an unattended train with 72 oil tankers began rolling downhill toward the town. More than 60 tankers derailed and many exploded. Forty-seven people died and dozens of buildings were destroyed.

In 2014, three railway employees were charged with 47 counts each of criminal negligence, including engineer Thomas Harding, who is accused of failing to set enough brakes on the train. Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the defunct railway at the heart of the disaster, was also charged.

The accused in the new charges include Harding, the railway, CEO Robert Grindgrod and manager of train operations Jean Demaitre.

The Canadian subsidiary of the railway and three others have also been charged although it’s not immediately clear what role they are accused of playing.

Transport Canada spokeswoman M

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