A VIA passenger train lies on its side after a derailment near Katrime, Man., on Dec. 31, 2019.RCMP MANITOBA/Reuters
VIA Rail says an investigation is underway to determine why a passenger train went off the tracks west of Winnipeg with a dozen people on board.
The company says two passengers and three crew members were taken to hospital for medical treatment and later released.
Five remaining passengers were taken to their Winnipeg destination by bus.
The derailment happened about 6:45 a.m. roughly 15 kilometres north of the community of MacGregor.
Train 692 had been travelling on the Hudson Bay line from Churchill, Man.
The Transportation Safety Board says the train was going 100 km/h when two locomotives and one car derailed.
Alex Fournier, a spokesman with the TSB, said an investigator was to arrive at the scene Tuesday afternoon.
VIA Rail Canada spokesman Karl-Philip Marchand Giguere said in an email that an environment crew was on its way to the site, as a small amount of fuel had leaked from one of the locomotives.
“The cause of the incident is under investigation and we are working with authorities to determine exactly what happened.”
He said that due to the derailment, VIA had cancelled its Tuesday trip from Winnipeg to Thompson and Wednesday’s trip between Thompson and The Pas.
“This is an unfortunate situation and we extend our apologies to our customers for the impacts on their travel plans during this holiday season,” he said.
The Canadian Press
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