Repentigny residents press for answers, safety measures after July 5 train derailment
Posted August 31, 2026 9:53 pm.
For some residents living alongside the railway tracks in Repentigny, the sound of a passing train has not been the same since July 5.
Nearly two months after a train derailed in the city, about 60 residents gathered Monday evening at the Centre Laurent-Venne for a citizen meeting organized by the City of Repentigny.
The meeting was intended to give residents an opportunity to hear directly from the organizations involved, ask questions and raise concerns about what happened, what has been done since the derailment and what comes next.
Representatives from the City of Repentigny and Canadian National Railway (CN) attended, along with representatives from Transport Canada and Santé Québec–Lanaudière. The meeting was facilitated by the Institut du Nouveau Monde, an independent, non-partisan organization specializing in citizen participation.
‘I just wanted to protect my daughter’
One resident, who asked not to be identified, was home with his nine-month-old daughter when the derailment happened.
There was little time to think about what was happening. His first instinct was to get his daughter somewhere he believed she would be protected.
“I put her in the carrier. I put her in the basement, in a closet, facing the wall, and I closed it. I pushed my fridge in front of it,” he said, explaining that he feared what could happen if there were an explosion.
His wife and son were away at the time, leaving him alone with his daughter as the incident unfolded.
“I was just thinking about my daughter and my son,” he said. “I think I did the right thing with my daughter because it was the only thing that I could do to protect her if there was an explosion or anything.”
The memory remains vivid.
“I’m still shaking because of the sound that the metal did when it all crushed and tore up,” he said.
He remembers seeing a rail car leave the tracks and fall toward the street. What stays with him now are the possibilities — the children who could have been nearby, the cars that could have been waiting, the consequences that might have been very different.
“What if a child was crossing the road?” he asked. “What if three families were in their car waiting for the train to pass?”
For the resident, the issue is not only about technical measures or infrastructure. It is also about how residents feel they have been treated since the derailment.
He expressed frustration with what he considers a lack of support from the city and questioned whether residents’ concerns have received enough attention.
“I’m not here to have money or anything,” he said. “I just want to feel like a human being.”
When the trains pass, some residents still listen
For other families, the derailment has changed what was once an ordinary part of life.
One resident described the anxiety that has settled in at night, when trains pass close to her home and the sound can bring the memory back.
“There’s a lot of worry, especially with the young children at home who are afraid,” she said. “Since then, when the train passes during the night, I stay awake because when I hear the noise, I can’t get back to sleep. And my youngest child is afraid of dying.”
Another resident focused on something she can feel as much as hear: the vibration of the trains through her home.
“Our concerns are mainly the speed of the train,” she said. “For the moment, it’s going smoothly. It makes a lot less vibration in the house.”
She added that the slower trains have provided some relief, but questions remain about what caused the derailment and what will happen next.
What has been done since the derailment
During the meeting, the City provided an update on the response to the derailment and the transition from the emergency phase to recovery.
CN presented its findings to date and outlined measures taken since the incident, including reconstruction of the railway track in the derailment area and speed restrictions that have been put in place.
The railway company also explained its track inspection procedures and the federal regulatory framework governing rail safety in Canada.
Residents, meanwhile, raised questions about track inspection and maintenance, train speeds and the measures being taken to reduce the risk of another incident.
The questions are also about what comes after
The derailment left more than a railway to repair.
One resident came to the meeting looking for information about the area behind his home, which he described as heavily damaged.
“It’s all destroyed,” he said. “We want to have a new bicycling path and trees and make the place look good. Because it all looks like a desert.”
He described the derailment itself as “a very traumatic incident.”
For another resident, repairing the tracks and surrounding area is part of restoring a sense of normal life for families.
“I want them to find a solution to repair the tracks so that we can move forward,” she said. “So that the kids could stop being scared. That they can go play on the path that we used to do not too long ago. That everything is under control, and that there’s no more secrets.”
Residents also raised concerns about possible impacts on property values, potential compensation or legal recourse for material damage and other inconveniences, and the psychological effects of the derailment.
Psychosocial support resources were made available to participants, and support was offered on site to people who felt they needed it.
Push for lower train speeds
Those concerns have also prompted a push for a permanent change to train speeds.
Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin, who represents Repentigny, attended the meeting in support of residents who are calling for additional rail-safety measures.
Bonin said a citizen approached him about launching a petition calling for a permanent reduction in train speeds near homes — a request he said is intended to apply beyond Repentigny.
“We see similar situations in Quebec where trains are going super fast, that are super heavy and long, and that are nearby houses,” he said. “And we’ve seen what happened in Repentigny. So we want that risk to be reduced, and the best way to reduce the risk is to reduce the speed of the train.”
Bonin also raised questions about railway inspections and maintenance, as well as the respective responsibilities of CN and the federal government.
He referred to preliminary conclusions from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, saying they identified what he described as significant gaps related to rail maintenance and crossings.
He argued that residents need greater transparency about what has been done since the derailment and what measures are being considered to prevent another incident.
More information to come
The City says it will continue its discussions with the organizations involved and follow up on the issues raised by residents.
The informational portion of Monday’s meeting, before the question-and-answer period, was recorded. The recording is expected to be made available through the City of Repentigny’s website and YouTube channel.
A report prepared by the Institut du Nouveau Monde following the meeting is also expected to be published on the city’s website in the coming weeks.
For residents who have spent nearly two months living with the aftermath of the derailment, the meeting offered an opportunity to ask questions. But for many, the bigger question remains how the city and railway authorities can ensure they feel safe beside the tracks again.
