Beavers are to blame for the coal train derailment in Burnaby on Saturday, according to the Canadian National Railway.
On Saturday morning, several cars carrying metallurgic coal dust jumped the tracks at Government Street and Brighton Avenue, and three tipped over, spilling coal into Silver Creek, which runs alongside the tracks.
Emergency crews were on the scene, the cars have been removed and some of the coal was recovered, but CN's Emily Hamer told the NOW the weather and beavers were to blame for the derailment.
"The cause was the heavy rainfall, which led to a beaver dam washout," Hamer said, adding the washed out dam "impacted the integrity of the tracks."
"It was the exceptional weather that affected that area," she said.
Two people were on the train, but no one was injured.
Hamer said the tracks had been inspected but could not say when exactly.
CN runs the railway tracks, but Canadian Pacific Railway owns the derailed train.
CP spokesperson Ed Greenberg confirmed the coal was metallurgic, which is used to make steel, but he couldn't say who owned the coal. The train was travelling from the Kootenay region and was headed to Neptune Bulk Terminals in North Vancouver.
The tipped coal cars were "open hopper," which means they were uncovered and are typically used to transport commodities like coal or grain in bulk.
"It's an open car but it is sprayed with this sealant, for dust suppression, and it keeps it in place inside the car," Greenberg said.
Greenberg didn't know how much coal had spilled, nor how much had been recovered.
Hamer said the Transportation Safety Board is also investigating, but CN concluded the accident was caused by heavy rainfall.
Hamer could not say how much dust had spilled into the creek, but eyewitness video shows the black dust washing into the waterway, which leads to Burnaby Lake. Silver Creek is considered sensitive salmon habitat and is home to cutthroat trout, and spawning chum and coho.
As for the environmental impact, Hamer said CN is working closely with the provincial Environment Ministry to clean up the coal.
The tracks have since been repaired and reopened on Sunday afternoon, and the Cariboo Road train crossing is now open.
This is the second time in recent months that beavers have made local headlines. In November, beavers were blamed behind a power outage by Burnaby Lake, after they chewed down trees that fell over and took out powerlines, causing an outage.
