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Yesterday, Transport Canada issued an order to reduce train speed from 40 mph to 25 mph along a five-mile stretch of the Lévis subdivision in Alberta as a precautionary measure following a Canadian National Railway Co. derailment near Beaumont.

The agency also is intensifying inspections of CN's operation in the area, assessing all previous CN accidents in the subdivision and examining the area's track conditions.

In addition, Transport Canada officials are working with CN representatives to determine if trains speeds should be permanently reduced at the location or if additional measures should be imposed to prevent accidents.

"I'm making the commitment to keep appropriate municipalities informed of the results of these assessments," said Canadian Transport Minister Pierre Lapierre in a prepared statement. "We will continue to work closely with the Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of the causes of this accident."