CANADA: Transport Canada has announced the Rail Climate Change Adaptation Programme. This will provide up to C$2·2m of co-funding for to support research, development, and implementation of innovative technologies, tools, and approaches to better understand and address the impacts of climate change on the rail sector, such as flooding, landslides and fires.
Transport Canada has also announced safety measures to reduce the risk of rail-related wildfires in the context of extreme weather. Operators must reduce speeds and conduct additional track inspections when temperatures are high to reduce the risk of a derailment caused by track conditions, inspect locomotive exhaust systems more frequently to ensure they are free of any deposits that could pose a fire risk, and implement a fire risk reduction plan.
‘In a period where we are seeing the impacts of climate change and extreme weather in Canada, it’s important that we do everything we can to mitigate future risks’, said Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra on July 5.
‘Our new rules will protect our railways against wildfires in the context of extreme weather. At the same time, the Rail Climate Change Adaption Programme will help railways assess and adopt next generation tools to mitigate adverse issues caused by climate change.’
