Rail company says propane removal underway from derailed cars in Nova Scotia

WEST RIVER STATION, N.S. – The company that owns a train that derailed in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County says work has begun to transfer propane from seven tanker cars.

 Denis Boucher, a spokesman for the owners of the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway, says if the work proceeds as planned the section of track could be repaired and ready for operations as soon as Thursday afternoon.

But Boucher can’t say how long it will take to remove the seven derailed cars, six of which overturned when the train left the tracks Monday in West River Station, about 150 kilometres northeast of Halifax.

He says it’s also too early to say what caused the derailment.

Boucher says the company is putting up six families in local hotels after homes near the accident were evacuated.