Clean-up is ongoing following the March 5 CN train derailment which saw 27 cars go off the track and a small spill of petroleum coke into an adjacent creek 40 km east of Prince George.
While Upper Fraser Road was re-opened on Saturday (March 7), clean-up of the site is expected to take place for most of the week of March 9–13.
Giscome Elementary School will remain closed until clean-up is completed and it is safe to return to the school.
Staff and students from Giscome Elementary will be re-routed to Blackburn Elementary starting Monday, March 9 until further notice.
Buses will pick up students at their regular times and transport them to Blackburn Elementary. Students will return home a little later than usual. Staff from Diversified Transportation and School District No. 57 will inform parents of Giscome Elementary students of their arrival times on Monday, March 9.
Students who attend Prince George Secondary School will be picked up and returned home at their usual, scheduled times.
While the cause of the derailment is still unknown, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced it deployed a team of investigators to the site.
CN environmental experts, as well as regulatory authorities, have been deployed to oversee the physical removal of the petroleum coke from the creek, which the company says is a non-hazardous byproduct of the refining process.
“CN thanks first responders for their assistance and apologizes for the inconvenience caused by this incident,” the company said in a statement.
CN adds there was no danger to public safety as well as no reported injuries or fires as a result of the incident.
