Recommendation 1

That Transport Canada accelerate the current study examining the feasibility of establishing a rail bypass around the town of Lac-Mégantic and that, should the said study confirm the recommendation of the creation of a by-pass, the Government of Canada partner with the municipality to facilitate the request as a way of mitigating instances of post-traumatic stress syndrome within the local population following the accident at Lac-Mégantic.

Recommendation 2

That Transport Canada re-examine the rules and technology on maximum wear of rails to ensure that visual assessments of the rails’ conditions and improved technologies are included in the inspection criteria.

Recommendation 3

That Transport Canada put in place an enhanced qualification and training program for the rail industry for engineers and other workers directly involved in rail safety.

Recommendation 4

That Transport Canada collaborate with the municipality of Lac-Mégantic in the establishment of the Lac-Mégantic Canadian Centre for Training and Certification for first responders and teams of interest.

Recommendation 5

That Transport Canada undertake frequent, interactive and publicly visible inspections of railway operations in communities where there have been major incidents to mitigate ongoing fears.

Recommendation 6

That Transport Canada immediately increase the number of on-site and visual inspections for compliance with rail safety regulations and rules it conducts in a given year, prioritizing rail operations with a record of poor performance in terms of developing and implementing effective safety management systems or have demonstrated repeated marginal or non-compliance with federal rail safety regulations.

Recommendation 7

That Transport Canada assign increased resources and training for field inspections on rail safety.

Recommendation 8

That the Government of Canada accelerate the 5-year statutory review of the Railway Safety Act and complete a comprehensive, independent review of the Railway Safety Act prior to 2018.

Recommendation 9

That Transport Canada require effective signage and/or other safety measures at unmarked passive railway crossings that have been identified as most dangerous, or where accidents have repeatedly occurred, and that the cost of these safety modifications not be placed upon local government or ratepayers.

Recommendation 10

That Transport Canada publicly release the report of the Enhanced Train Control Working Group immediately after receiving it.

Recommendation 11

That Transport Canada publicly release the final report on the first phase of a two-phase study to evaluate the safety benefits of locomotive voice and video recorders.

Recommendation 12

That Transport Canada immediately develop legislative and regulatory structures to mandate the use of locomotive voice and video recorders by railway companies, and that effective rules be put in place to ensure recordings are used exclusively by the appropriate government authorities during Transportation Safety Board accident investigations or in subsequent criminal investigations to which they directly relate.

Recommendation 13

That Transport Canada establish and adopt an expedited process for responding to Transportation Safety Board safety-related recommendations and that an enhanced reporting system be adopted to prevent recommendations from languishing, without action, on the Transportation Safety Board Active Rail Recommendations list.

Recommendation 14

That Transport Canada, in cooperation with the federal departments responsible for health and labour, take immediate action through a working group to develop options to improve the management of railway crew fatigue, including (but not limited to) (1) enhancing work/rest rules in safety management systems (SMS); (2) removing work/rest provisions from collective bargaining processes; (3) introducing guidelines or a regulatory framework in place of SMS-based fatigue management; and (4) ensuring that fatigue rules are science-based. The working group’s report must be tabled in Parliament by 1 January 2018.

Recommendation 15

That Transport Canada (1) conduct a comparative study on the rules for remote control locomotive operations in Canada and the United States; and (2) take measures that lead to the harmonization and adoption of rules governing more aspects of remote control locomotive operations, including rules concerning the tonnage of a train, the length of remote control movements and the training requirements for operators of the technology.

Recommendation 16

That Transport Canada immediately pursue in consultation with provincial and local governments legislative and/or regulatory structures to require rail companies operating in Canada to (1) develop and implement long-term plans to mitigate environmental impacts on railways, including but not limited to ongoing destabilization of slopes, mudslides, flooding, extreme weather conditions, and floodplain issues; and (2) when these issues affect a company’s railway in a community, that these communities be consulted in the development and implementation of the plan.

Recommendation 17

That Transport Canada immediately develop legislative and/or regulatory structures to require rail companies operating in Canada to (1) provide real time knowledge of dangerous goods to first responders in communities via cellular or Internet services where possible (such as the AskRail app); (2) study other means of delivering this information ahead of time or in real time via other mediums to communities outside of cellular range; and (3) that these communities be consulted in the development and implementation of the plan.

Recommendation 18

That advance notice and opportunity for consultation with municipalities be provided on rules and any exceptions to rules.

Recommendation 19

That Transport Canada review whistle-blower protection provisions to determine if their inclusion in safety management systems provides the appropriate framework for responsible and effective raising of operating safety issues.