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photo courtesy Geoff Watson/CHAT News TODAY
TRAIN DERAILMENT UPDATE

Evacuation order over, highway open, TSB to investigate Irvine derailment

Aug 4, 2019 | 10:58 AM

IRVINE, AB — The Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the train derailment that saw residents within a 7 kilometre radius of Irvine told to evacuate following a train derailment on the west side of the hamlet Friday afternoon.

That evacuation order has since been lifted and the Trans-Canada Highway has been reopened.

The Alberta Emergency Alert issued Friday stated the derailment involved damage along the railway line, chemical exposure and disruption of road and highway access.

The Alberta Emergency Alert officially ended at 8:40 p.m.

CHAT received calls about the derailment shortly before 3:30 p.m., with residents noting smoke and fire in the area. The number of cars involved in the derailment was not immediately known.

In a statement, CP Rail confirmed a train derailment occurred at approximately 3:20 p.m. and that teams were dispatched to the site, but did not provide any more details.