NOT GUILTY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2018 :: RMTnews 26 Railworkers and working people in Canada won a big victory earlier this year following the end of the three-and-a-half- month frame-up trial of train driver Tom Harding and train traffic controller Richard Labrie, both members of United Steelworkers Local 1976, and low-level former Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway manager Jean Demaitre. The jury declared all three not guilty on all counts for the Lac-Mégantic disaster. On July 6 2013, a runaway train carrying 72 cars of crude oil rolled seven miles into Lac- Mégantic, Quebec, derailed, exploded and burned, killing 47 people and levelling the town centre. Instead of implementing measures to ensure future rail safety, the companies and governments responsible framed up the driver Tom Harding and train controller Richard Labrie. After the explosion, Harding risked his life to depressurise brakes and avoid further destruction, making him a hero in the eyes of many in town. However he faced 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death, and was threatened with life imprisonment. A year before the disaster the Canadian government had approved the MMA’s request to haul crude oil with a “crew” of one. In the past, trains of this size had crews of five or more. Harding reported to company dispatchers that he left the train after completing his 12-hour shift for his scheduled sleep. The lead engine was running, powering the air brakes, and he’d set handbrakes on seven cars. Before leaving, Harding called MMA’s rail-traffic controller to report mechanical problems on the locomotive and thick smoke belching from its exhaust. They agreed he could leave the engine for the night. Due to negligent company maintenance, a fire broke out on the lead engine during the night. Local firefighters switched off the engine when they put the fire out. When the dispatcher informed him, Harding asked if he should go there and start another engine. Go back to sleep, the dispatcher told him, the company has sent someone else. The company sent a track manager, who wasn’t trained on operating locomotives. He took no further steps. Without an engine powering the air compressors, the air brakes eventually bled off and the train started its deadly roll. The charges against Harding centre on allegations he didn’t set enough handbrakes. The NOT GUILTY Martin Hill of EPS branch reports on a victory in Canada after court throws out case against workers blamed for Lac-Mégantic rail disaster