For the second time this month, a Canadian National (CN) freight train has derailed in a residential area in northwestern New Brunswick.

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Five freight cars are reported to have jumped the tracks shortly before 11pm Sunday in the Saint-Basile parish of Edmundston.  Three cars were lying in a ditch behind a Hyundai dealership and two others were off the tracks but still upright.

The tracks run along the Saint John River and the derailment site is just across the border from Madawaska, Maine.


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CN spokesman Jim Feeny said Monday that one of the tipped freight cars was carrying liquefied petroleum gas, but there was no apparent spill.  Three other cars were transporting automobiles and one tanker was filled with a clay sludge.

Edmundston Fire and Safety Director Pierre-Damien Arel said crews from several municipalities responded to the emergency Sunday night in Saint-Basile and are closely monitoring the situation. No injuries were reported.

There are several homes and businesses in that area, but so far there has been no evacuation order. Main Street in Saint-Basile remained closed to traffic Monday between Fournier Street and Nadeau Hyundai.

On January 7, a CN train hauling crude oil derailed outside Plaster Rock, New Brunswick triggering a massive fire that burned for several days, and forced the evacuation of 150 residents.  The Saint-Basile derailment is about 60 miles (95km) from the January 7 derailment in Wapske.

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