The Hinton train collision was a rail transport accident that occurred in Canada on 8 February 1986. Twenty-three people were killed in a collision between a Canadian National Railway freight train and a Via Rail passenger train called the Super Continental, including the engine crews of both trains. It was the deadliest rail disaster in Canada since the Dugald accident of 1947, which had thirty-one fatalities, and was not surpassed until the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in 2013, which resulted in 47 deaths. After 56 days of testimony at a public inquiry, a commission concluded that the collision was caused by the freight head end crew failing to stop their train because of incapacitation or other unknown factors, while the conductor in the caboose failed to use the emergency brake to stop the train. The report also highlighted serious flaws in the culture and safety practices at Canadian National Railway. Background The collision occurred on a stretch of Canadian National Railway's transcontinental main line west of Edmonton, near the town of Hinton, Alberta. The towns of Jasper to the west and Edson to the east were nearby. Slightly over half of the stretch of track between Jasper and Edson was double-tracked, including of trackage from Hargwen control point west to Dalehurst control point. Traffic on this line was controlled with Centralized Traffic Control (CTC). Passenger train On the morning of 8 February 1986, Via Rail Canada train No. 4 was traveling eastbound from Jasper to Edmonton on its transcontinental journey. The train, which combined Super Continental and Skeena, consisted of 14 units in the following order: FP7 Diesel locomotive number 6566 F9B Diesel locomotive number 6633 Baggage-Dormitory 617 Coach-Snack Bar 3229 Skyline Dome car number 513 4-8-4 Sleeping car 1139 Ennishore 4-8-4 Sleeping car 1120 Elcott FP9ARM Diesel locomotive number 6300 (inoperative) Steam generator car 15445 Baggage car 9653 Daynighter Coach 5703 Cafe-Lounge 757 4-8-4 Sleeping car 1150 Estcourt Steam generator car 15404 The train's unusual composition was the result of two separate scheduled services from British Columbia being coupled together at Jasper. The front section, which had originated in Vancouver, consisted of two locomotives and five cars while the second (rear) section from Prince Rupert was led by one locomotive and five cars. A steam generator was coupled to the end of the train at Jasper for transfer to Edmonton depot for maintenance. Engineers Mike Peleshaty, age 57, and Emil