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Crews clean up a derailed cargo train in Repentigny, Que., on Monday, July 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Christopher KatsarovMONTREAL \u2014 The mayor of a suburban city northeast of Montreal where 46 railcars ran off the tracks on Sunday says he is relieved because the crash could have been a lot worse.\n\u201cWe were really lucky in our misfortune,\u201d Repentigny Mayor Nicolas Dufour said in a phone interview the day after a CN Rail train derailed in a residential area.
\nImages from the scene show railcars lying in a zigzag formation metres from homes in the city. CN says no injuries were reported, nor were there any fires or \u201cleaks\u201d from the crash.
\nThe derailment occurred almost 13 years to the day that an unattended Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train with 72 tank cars carrying crude oil rolled downhill into Lac-M\u00e9gantic, Que., on July 6, 2013, derailed and exploded in the downtown core, killing 47 people.
\nResidents of Repentigny, about 200 kilometres west of Lac-M\u00e9gantic, have many questions about how a train could derail when it was seemingly moving along a straight path, Dufour said. But they are also breathing \u201ca huge sigh of relief\u201d because no one was hurt.
\nCN Rail said three railcars that had previously contained diesel were empty at the time of the derailment, adding that they have been cleared from the scene.
\nThe derailment occurred on the edge of a residential area, first responders acted quickly and all potentially hazardous materials have already been removed, Dufour said.
\nCN teams have been removing the wagons one by one since late Sunday, Dufour said. The mayor believes some major streets could reopen as of Monday evening.
\nHowever, railway traffic will be closed off for a few more days, he said.
\nDufour said repairs were being carried out two weeks ago on the stretch of the railroad where the train derailed, but he said it\u2019s too soon to say what caused the crash.
\nHugo Fontaine, spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said two investigators arrived at the scene of the derailment on Sunday to gather information and assess what happened.
\nThe railway said it will provide additional information as it becomes available. \u201cCN would like to apologize for the inconvenience resulting from this incident,\u201d railway spokesperson Michelle Hannan said.
\nQuebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette was asked about the derailment while holding a news conference in Longueuil, Que., Monday morning.
\n\u201cI want to express my deepest sympathy for the residents living nearby. We\u2019ve seen that for many of them, the derailment occurred very close to where they live,\u201d she said. \u201cOf course, this does remind us of the Lac-M\u00e9gantic tragedy.\u201d
\nFr\u00e9chette took the opportunity to remind the federal government that it still hasn\u2019t build the long-promised rail bypass so that trains can skirt around Lac-M\u00e9gantic\u2019s downtown. She urged Ottawa to get moving on the project.
\nThis report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.<\/p>\n