Feed Drop: Train Crashes Destroyed Their Towns. Will Yours Be Next?

Feed Drop: Train Crashes Destroyed Their Towns. Will Yours Be Next?

From Work Stoppage by workstoppage

July 14, 2026 · 1h 13m · Episode 470

About this episode

This episode features survivors discussing the devastating impacts of the Lac-Mégantic and East Palestine train disasters.

10 years before the catastrophic train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, one of the deadliest rail disasters in North American history took place in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. On July 6, 2013, an unattended freight train that had been parked on the tracks overnight began to roll downhill and gather alarming speed as it careened towards the city center of Lac-Mégantic. The train, which was operated by Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway and carrying over 2 million gallons of crude oil, derailed around 1:15 AM. The resulting explosions and fire killed 47 people and destroyed over 40 buildings, obliterating a large portion of the downtown area and prompting mass evacuations. In this special episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of survivors of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Canada and the East Palestine rail disaster in the USA. --------------------------- Panelists include: Robert Bellefleur, a resident of Lac-Mégantic and spokesperson for the Lac-Mégantic Citizens' Coalition for Railroad Safety; Gilbert Carette, a resident of Lac-Mégantic and a member of the Lac-Mégantic Citizens' Coalition for Railroad Safety; Gilles Fluet…

People in this episode

Guests: Robert Bellefleur, Gilbert Carette, Gilles Fluet, Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, Jami Wallace

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Lac-Mégantic, East Palestine, Quebec

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