Trains in northern Manitoba should never have run along sections of the track deemed impassable by federal transport standards, says a newly released report.

The report by a Mississauga, Ont.-based engineering firm says trains operated by Manitoba's Keewatin Railway Corp. ran along 16 sections of the track classified by Transport Canada as unsafe, and should have been stopped until the tracks were repaired.

The document — obtained from Via Rail under the Access to Information Act — also recommends speed limits for more than 200 sections of track to make them safe.

A Via Rail spokesman says the Crown corporation received the report because it leases several coaches to Keewatin, which operates trains on a remote 310-kilometre section of track between The Pas and Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba.

Keewatin Railway's general manager says all the problem areas have been repaired since the report was sent to Via Rail last September, and that the 16 impassable sections of track ranged from only a few inches to several metres.

A separate Via Rail report released last year showed crumbling infrastructure resulted in one out of every four trains being late in 2007.