• Transport Canada has committed to advancing train control, but the TSB will continue to rate their response as unsatisfactory until they provide an action plan with realistic timelines for implementation, as highlighted in the annual assessment of 78 recommendations across all modes of transportation.
• The TSB's assessment of rail-related recommendations includes calls to assess railways' safety management systems, address runaway equipment, gaps in employee training, CPKC's safety management system, and interim measures to address risks until enhanced train control can be enacted, with only one recommendation regarding proficiency for instrument-rated pilots being closed as fully satisfactory.

GATINEAU, Quebec - None of the eight outstanding safety recommendations dealing with rail issues have been fully addressed over the last year, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an annual assessment issued today (July 8, 2026).

In fact, the agency has downgraded the response to a key recommendation - seeking the introduction of enhanced train control on key rail routes - to "unsatisfactory." While Transport Canada has said it is committed to advancing train control, the TSB said the rating will remain unsatisfactory until Transport Canada provides an action plan including "realistic timelines" for implementation.

Overall, the TSB assessed 78 recommendations across all modes of transportation. Just one, regarding proficiency for instrument-rated pilots, was closed as having been addressed in "fully satisfactory" fashion.

"Some of the recommendations highlighted in this year's assessment stem from investigations that occurred nearly a decade ago," Yoan Marier, chair of the TSB, said in a press release. "While we recognize that in some areas progress has been made, meaningful action is still needed to address longstanding safety deficiencies and reduce the risk of future accidents."

The agency also rates as unsatisfactory Transport Canada's response to its call to assess railways' safety management systems. Other active recommendations address runaway equipment, gaps in employee training, CPKC's safety management system, and interim measures to address risks until enhanced train control can be enacted. The full list of rail-related recommendations, including those that have been addressed, is available here.

The assessment of recommendations follows release earlier this week of the TSB's annual statistical summary of occurrences (the TSB term for accidents and other incidents). The total 3,354 occurrences included 1,163 in the rail industry, down 7% from the previous year and 17% below the 10-year average.

Those occurrences included 71 rail-related fatalities, up from 69 the previous year, with 16 at grade crossings, up from 12 in 2024. Complete information on rail occurrences is available here.

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