After Deadly Derailment, Changes Come Slowly for Canadian City
- Ten years ago, a train exploded in Lac-Mégantic, killing 47
- Hazardous cargo still travels on line that cuts through town
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Freight trains still rumble through Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, a daily reminder to its 5,750 residents of the accident that shattered a warm summer night, and their city, 10 years ago.
In the early hours of July 6, 2013, dozens of people were socializing at the Musi-Café bar, while others slept in their apartments nearby — unaware that a runaway freight train was barreling toward them at about 65 miles (105 kilometers) an hour, pulling 72 tank cars loaded with crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken field. At about 1:15 a.m., the train derailed, causing a chain of explosions. Fire ripped through the bar and incinerated much of the city’s downtown, killing 47 people.