Quebec sets up hearings to study options for rail track in Lac-Megantic

Quebec’s environmental-review agency will hold public hearings into what to do with rail track in Lac-Megantic.

Local residents have been asking for a track bypass ever since a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in July 2013, killing 47 people and wiping out much of Lac-Megantic’s downtown core.

People in the town and surrounding communities will be able to speak at hearings on the various possibilities, including the status quo, an “improved” status quo and three different bypass options.

The agency’s mandate will begin May 23 and last two months.

The Quebec and federal governments have financed a feasibility study on the matter.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in January to speed up the process to build a track that would bypass Lac-Megantic.