The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its findings and one recommendation into the October 6, 2001 crossing accident and derailment in the Township of Drummond, involving a Canadian National Railway freight train and an automobile on a farm crossing.

The Board recommended that Transport Canada encourage the railway companies to implement technologies and/or methods of train control to assure that the forces of stretching and compression on the couplings between the cars during emergency braking allows trains to operate in a safe manner.

"The Board has identified a risk with respect to emergency brake application. The recommendation made today will help to reduce the danger of train derailments during emergency stops," said Steve Callaghan, Senior Investigator-Rail, Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

The accident occurred as the freight train approached a farm crossing, an automobile moved onto the crossing and stalled. The locomotive engineer sounded the horn and then made an emergency brake application when it became evident that the automobile would not clear the crossing.

The lead locomotive struck the automobile and came to rest approximately 1070 feet from the crossing. Three cars derailed at the head-end of the train. One of the derailed cars buckled upward before derailing. The crew of the freight train did not sustain any injuries.The three occupants of the automobile had abandoned the vehicle prior to the collision and were not physically injured.