A minor train derailment is blocking traffic in the Polo Park area. Sargent was closed between Empress and Strathcona Streets following the incident.
BNSF LINE reporting 4 cars derailed. A spokesperson from BNSF Railway said that four cars – two empty tank cars and two boxcars with lumber products – derailed, but didn’t tip over.
The tracks can still be crossed at Ellice Avenue.
Sargent Avenue has reopened to traffic in Winnipeg’s St. James neighbourhood, the workers still working on clearing the tracks for the train movement, but the vehicles are now clear to cross.
The train derailment can be quite dangerous not just for the train workers, the traffic crossing tracks, but also for the environment if the cargo (oil, fuel, chemicals, etc.) spills over and gets into soil or water.