Canadian rail accidents involving dangerous goods rose 21% last year from 2012, reflecting a rapid rise in the movement of crude oil by rail. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada recorded 144 rail accidents that involved dangerous goods last year, up from 119 in 2012 and above the five-year average of 133. The figures were contained in the Canadian safety agency’s annual report released Wednesday. Of those accidents, seven resulted in a spillage of dangerous goods, compared with two such incidents in 2012, the agency said. The latest results included the July 6, 2013, derailment of an oil train in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people. The report came out a day after the TSB issued its final report on the Lac-Mégantic accident, citing 18 factors that contributed to the derailment, including a weak safety culture at the company that operated the train and lax regulatory oversight. On Tuesday, […]