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Hwy 2A traffic to resume as derailed train cars cleared away

Traffic should resume this evening on Hwy 2A west of Gasoline Alley and an adjacent section of railroad.
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A Canadian Pacific Railway repair crew was hard at work Tuesday after a train derailment south of Red Deer early Tuesday morning. Five tankers carrying glycol — none of which are leaking — and a locomotive at the end of the train derailed about 2 a.m. Tuesday four km. south of the city. There were no injuries in the incident that forced the closure of highway 2A. Traffic on highway 2A has been diverted to highway 2 until repairs are completed.

Traffic should resume this evening on Hwy 2A west of Gasoline Alley and an adjacent section of railroad.

Both were closed after five cars and a locomotive at the back of a southbound Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed early Tuesday morning.

The highway was closed between McKenzie Road and Lantern Street while crews built an emergency access road to conduct recovery and repair operations.

The rail cars and locomotives have now been removed and repairs to the damaged track should be finished early this evening, said Breanne Feigel, Calgary-based spokeswoman for CPR.

CPR officials had hoped to reopen the highway earlier today, but were delayed so crews could clean up mud left from the large number of gravel trucks used to build the access road, said Feigel.

It was felt that the highway would not be safe for motorists until it was cleared of mud, she said.

CPR trains that would normally have followed the route were diverted to other tracks and some cars were shifted to other carrier, said Feigel.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the locomotive and tank cars left the rail. All five cars were carrying glycol, primarily used to make antifreeze. There were no leaks from any of the cars nor were there any injuries as a result of the derailment, said Feigel.

CPR will not be able to estimate the costs of the damage until the repairs have been finished, she said.