Rail transportation

The occurrence

On November 21, 2023, a Canadian National Railway (CN) train and an exo commuter train collided at the St-Léonard-Montréal-Nord station in Montréal, Quebec. The investigation found that the CN train crew had passed a Restricting signal requiring them to limit their speed and be prepared to stop. However, believing the track ahead was clear, the train accelerated. By the time the stationary commuter train became visible, it was too late to avoid the collision and subsequent derailment.

Investigations conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are complex since an accident rarely results from a single cause. In the case of the November 2023 train collision in Montréal, several factors led to the accident. The five findings below detail the causes and contributing factors that led to this occurrence. Additionally, the TSB made two findings as to risk and 3 other findings.