A safety audit of CN Rail prompted by two train accidents found a long list of problems, including faulty equipment, improper safety practices and a high rate of safety defects on locomotives.

The audit was conducted in 2005, completed a year ago and released Friday after CBC News filed an access to information request. The audit states CN has fully co-operated with Transport Canada and has improved some practices but that it must move further in that direction.

Transport Canada made 11 recommendations for change, eight of which, it said, the railway has already moved to address.

Transport Canada launched the safety audit after two train wrecks in Western Canada in 2005. In the first wreck, a CN train jumped the rails and spilled oil into Lake Wabamun in Alberta. Two days later, a second train plunged into the Cheakamus Canyon in B.C. and spilled caustic soda into the river.

The two-phase report reveals a number of problems with both targeted safety inspections and with CN's safety management practices.

In the first phase of the report, investigators found a number of "safety defects" in CN's equipment. These defects could cause a derailment, personal injury or property/environment damage.

For example, auditors found a "significantly high rate" of safety defects (54 per cent) on the locomotives they inspected with problems ranging from brake gear defects to too much oil accumulated on locomotives and fuel tanks.

The audit also recorded a number of different system and brake gear defects and defects with the cars themselves, including 27 occurrences of an "unsecured plug type door."

Derailment risk

"The loss of this door on a train in transit has in the past caused the loss of life," the report says, adding the problem causes a medium to high risk for derailment.

The inspection also found a large number of locations where track conditons did not comply with track safety rules.

Auditors identified issues relating to rail defects ranging from damaged rail to rail wear. There were also a number of cases of missing bolts and cracked splice bars.

Train crossings posed another problem. Around 26 per cent of the crossings inspected had inadequate sightlines — the majority at unprotected crossings. There were also problems with surface conditions.

The audit also found more than a third of the locomotives inspected violated parts of the labour code regarding trains. Problems included out of date fire extinguishers, incomplete first aid kits and missing protective covers on electrical equipment.

The second phase of the report found many front-line employees say they feel pressured to get the job done. It also said current practices allow locomotives with safety defects to continue in service.

But CN rejected that allegation. In an email to Transport Canada obtained by CBC News, a CN official said the report included a large number of inaccurate or misleading findings.

The official blamed that on what he calls the unstructured manner in which employees were questioned.