Emergency responders and industry personnel were invited to take a tour of the TRANSCAER Safety Train while it's in Sarnia.
The train arrived in Sarnia on Tuesday, July 8 and will be stopped until Friday, July 11.
Throughout the week, there've been a number of safety presentations highlighting how to respond to tank car emergency events.
Nick Robichaud showing a group the different valves on the Transcaer Safety Train on July 10,2025 (Photo by: Lindsay Newman/ Blackburn Media)
CN Dangerous Goods Officer Michael Heeringa said it's important for emergency responders to have this kind of training.
"This is all hands on, all awareness, giving them an idea of what needs to get done and what the railway's responsibility is to train first responders, so we all work nicely together," he said.
Attendees had the chance to learn about the different valves, the car itself, and how much can be loaded into the car.
Nick Robichaud, Manager of Logistics Regulatory Compliance at NOVA Chemicals, said training included the anatomy of tank cars and how to identify hazards.
"It's really important our first responders have a good understanding of not only the commodities in tank cars that are going through their area but also the anatomy of tank cars and what other resources are available to them," he said.
The top of the Transcaer Safety Train on July 10, 2025 (Photo by: Lindsay Newman/ Blackburn Media)
"It's good networking but again, it's also just providing [attendees] with awareness level information, so they can understand how to identify some of the hazards and identify parts and components," Robichaud said.
During Thursday's event, there were 34 attendees including those from Sarnia Fire Rescue, the Ministry of Environment, and Shell Manufacturing.
The car showcased at the rail yard is a newer car after the original car had a crack in the belly of the tank.
It was permanently parked in 2018 and is now used at a fire school.
Robichaud said the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada decided it wanted a new car for these presentations.
"[It] decided to get funding together and find a place to build it and get some improvements to it as well and we got that done and it finished this year," he said.
Members of the public are also invited to check out the car but are asked to register beforehand.
Anyone interested in attending either events on Friday can register online.
After the car leaves it's not expected to come back for a few years.