Julia Peterson
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
A train derailment near Gull Lake, Sask. surprised residents and motorists Sunday evening as multiple cars fell and twisted off the tracks just a mile east of town.
Bart Lebastard was driving through Gull Lake on his way home to Eastend when he witnessed the derailment from about 20 feet away.
“The train had beat me to the crossing, so I was just waiting for it to pass,” said Lebastard. “And right after the middle engine passed was when everything started happening.
“Suddenly, there was a bang or two and the brakes slammed on, and the train actually split. The cars decoupled from themselves in a couple sections, and then I looked off to the east and there was a huge dust cloud in the air. You couldn’t see anything.”
Once everything had come to a screeching halt, Lebastard drove back down the highway to get a better view.
“The back engine was left on the rails with about six or eight cars before the pileup, and its lights were still on,” he said. “After that, there was about 15 cars that were either totally demolished, or off the tracks, or partially off the tracks, and you could see the inside of some of those cars. But it was just potash cars.”
Shortly before 8 p.m., the RCMP said no dangerous goods had been spilled and no injuries were reported after the train derailment, but the Highway 37 entrance to Gull Lake was blocked in both directions.
“Detours will be in place until the highway can be cleared,” the RCMP said in a statement. “This is anticipated to take several hours.”
Swift Current Rural RCMP and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Rail (CPKC) police service were on-site on Sunday evening, and asked drivers to “slow down and follow all directions provided by first responders.”
As of Monday afternoon, Highway 1 near the the Highway 37 junction was down to one lane, and the Highway 37 entrance to Gull Lake remained closed. An investigation by CPKC police is ongoing.
