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Company pleaded guilty to 34 counts under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act Irving Oil has been ordered to pay $4 million for offences under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, including failure to comply with safety requirements and inadequate training of staff, after an investigation related to the Lac Mégantic, Que., disaster. About $400,000 of the penalty is a fine. Almost $3.6 million will be used to implement research programs on federal safety standards and regulations under the federal act, according to a news release Thursdsay from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Irving Oil pleaded guilty earlier to...

A major rail industry group is calling for updating or phasing out thousands of tank cars used to carry crude oil, as federal officials weigh new regulations on moving hazardous materials by rail. The Association of American Railroads is urging U.S. regulators to require retrofits for roughly 72,000 older tank cars that haul flammable substances such as crude and ethanol, plus minor upgrades for an additional 14,000 newer cars. The AAR also recommends an "aggressive phase-out" of cars that can't meet retrofit requirements, the group said yesterday in comments filed with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. PHMSA, an...

LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — As the confirmed death toll climbed here Monday, the head of the company whose runaway train was at the centre of this tragedy says he is certain a locomotive was tampered with. “We have evidence of this,” said Ed Burkhardt, chairman of The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. “But this is an item that needs further investigation. We need to talk to some people we believe have knowledge of this.” ... The ensuing crash and explosions destroyed a stunning swath of the downtown and are now being blamed for 13 confirmed deaths. With the number of people...