Canadian Railroads > Train Takes Out Truck In Langley

The road I drive to and from work every day parallels the CN Main for a few miles so I often see train activity of some sort. Today was a little different, though. A couple hours before I passed through eastbound CN 416 hit a truck at an unprotected grade crossing just east of Hydro junction--about MP 101.5. This is where trains bound for DeltaPort and Roberts Bank leave the mainline and turn south.

Apparently the truck was traveling east and turned into the path of the train. It took fire and ambulance crews almost an hour and a half to free the driver from the wreckage and he was then airlifted to hospital. A police officer I talked to said he was conscious and talking to rescue personnel when he was pulled out and on the late news tonight they said he was in serious but stable condition--lucky guy by the look of things.

Train 416 was on the south track but was in the process of crossing over from the north so everything at Hydro was completely blocked. Although the accident happened on the south track the truck ended up about 20 feet north of the north track so even if one track had been clear I don't think any traffic would have been getting through. Lots of chatter on the scanner and CN, CP and BC Rail RTCs were all delaying and parking trains where they could. Pictures tell the rest of the story--more in the next post...

Keith Robertson
Langley, BC

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More images...

Keith Robertson
Langley, BC

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Those pictures of the front of the locomotive should be used in truck driver training. Very sobering to see a few bent handrails on the locomotive and the cab of the 18 wheeler crushed and upside down in a ditch.

I've seen pics of engines with a lot more damage than that after hitting a truck. I'm pretty sure this one was empty which would make it a relatively "light" impact. In any case, the train still wins...

Keith Robertson
Langley, BC