Canada TSB issues annual safety recommendation assessment

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada has released its annual review of safety recommendations across the marine, pipeline, aviation and rail sectors that have yet to be implemented.

While 84% of the TSB's safety recommendations since 1990 have been assessed as fully satisfactory, 78 recommendations remain outstanding, eight of which relate to the rail sector, TSB officials said. Notably, the TSB highlighted persistent risks related to delays in implementing enhanced train control (ETC) systems, known as positive train control in the United States, that could help prevent derailments and collisions.

"Some of the recommendations highlighted in this year's assessment stem from investigations that occurred nearly a decade ago," said TSB Chair Yoan Marier. "While we recognize that in some areas progress has been made, meaningful action is still needed to address longstanding safety deficiencies and reduce the risk of future accidents." 

In this year's report, the TSB reviewed progress on eight rail recommendations, none of which were deemed fully satisfactory. The TSB also downgraded Transport Canada's (TC) response to Recommendation R22-04 — which recommends that TC expedite the implementation of ETC on Canada's high-speed corridors and key routes — to an unsatisfactory rating.

In 2025, the TSB also recommended immediate interim measures to reduce risks until ETC systems are in place. While TC has reiterated its commitment to advancing ETC, it has yet to provide a detailed action plan or a clear implementation timeline, TSB officials said.