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The Globe and Mail, Wednesday, April 4, 2001

The final, fateful moments before a deadly train crash
Engineers' distress call of 'Stop your train' saved lives, but the two heroes lost theirs
By Andrew Mitrovica

It was an act of heroism by two men who lost their lives to save others.
But it turns out Kevin Lihou and Don Blain's frantic distress call to stop two packed Via Rail passenger trains from colliding was only heard by a stroke of luck.

The two men were at the helm of Toronto-bound Via train 74, with 180 passengers on board, on April 23, 1999.

Hurtling toward train 74 was another passenger train, Windsor-bound Via train 71, carrying 88 people. The trains were supposed be travelling on opposite tracks, but someone left vital switches in the wrong position, putting the trains on a collision course.

Just before the trains were about to crash into each other with ferocious force, the engineer of train 71 heard a cry over his hand-held radio: "No. 71, stop your train. Stop. Stop. Stop."

He stopped in time. But train 74 veered violently off the tracks, crashing into an idle freight train just outside Thamesville, Ont.

Mr. Lihou and Mr. Blain were killed instantly and scores were injured.

It could have been much, much worse.

Just who issued the frantic warning that averted a catastrophe remained a mystery until now.

A much-anticipated report into the accident, prepared by the Transportation Safety Board and to be released tomorrow, will hail Mr. Lihou and Mr. Blain as heroes for raising the alarm.

"We suspected that in the beginning and we have validated that information as factual," Dan Holbrook, the TSB's chief investigator, said in an interview yesterday.

But that warning was almost never heard.

The Globe and Mail has learned that the engineer on train 71 suggested to investigators that it was simply a fluke that he picked up the radio warning.

In closed-door testimony before railway executives in Toronto on May 20, 1999, the engineer suggested that the portable radio he was carrying just happened to be tuned in to the right channel to receive the warning.

The Globe has obtained a copy of the engineer's crucial testimony.

The engineer told the executives that it was difficult to intercept emergency or distress calls on the hand-held radio because the device was constantly being used to obtain clearances as the train moved along its route. During these transmissions the portable radio can't receive messages.

The engineer also told investigators that in order to abide by rules governing communications between crew members, the radio is often preoccupied with "lengthy broadcasts to no one."

The other crucial mystery surrounding the accident was who left the switch in the wrong position.

The TSB believes it has pinpointed those responsible.

Asked if the TSB has identified who left the switch in the improper position, Mr. Holbrook said: "To the extent that we can, yes." He quickly added that the TSB does not have the power to lay blame for the accident.

However, that information is crucial since the families of the two dead men filed lawsuits in mid-July, 1999, claiming the accident occurred as a result of negligence on the part of Via Rail Canada Inc., the Canadian National Railway Co., Canadian Pacific Ltd. and Transport Minister David Collenette.

A source familiar with the TSB's final report said it will "shed light on the heroics of the two men involved."

Mr. Lihou and Mr. Blain took frantic steps -- beyond radioing ahead -- the source said, in the moments before the collision to prevent the ammonium-hydrate fertilizer on the freight train from exploding.

Whatever the TSB's finding, Keith Lihou said he will always be proud of his older brother. "I was proud of my brother then, still am and always will be," Mr. Lihou said in an interview yesterday.

Investigations@globeandmail.ca