Lac-Megantic residents mark fourth anniversary of rail tragedy in Quebec town
LAC-MEGANTIC, Que. — Four years after the rail disaster that killed 47 people in their town, a group of Lac-Megantic citizens renewed the call for the construction of a bypass that would steer trains away from the core of the community.
Robert Bellefleur, spokesman for a rail-safety group in the town, said Thursday his group is outraged that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other politicians seem to accept that a bypass might not be ready for years.
“What shocks the population, it’s to note that it’s politically acceptable…to wait until 2022 for a safer solution for Lac-Megantic,” he told a news conference.
The Quebec and federal governments have financed a feasibility study on the matter, and the province’s environmental review agency began public hearings on the issue in May.