Trans Mountain expansion restarts after voluntary safety shutdown

KAMLOOPS — After a nearly two-month pause, Trans Mountain says its expansion project is beginning to ramp up again.

The pipeline announced a stoppage in mid-December due to a series of safety incidents. The initial stoppage was scheduled to last just more than two weeks, but ended up lasting nearly two months.

In a news release, Trans Mountain says “[a] staged remobilization of the company’s 7,000-strong workforce will begin this week.”

During its standown, the company conducted a review of its workplace safety protocols and practices, and says it is working with regulatory authorities as they undertake their own probes.

Trans Mountain says, in the wake of its review, it has “taken immediate steps to enhance the safety culture to ensure the company’s workplace practices and procedures are of the highest safety standards.”

The company has yet to announce its new contractor for Spreads 1 and 4B (North Thompson). Its initial contractor for those spreads, SA Energy, was fired in December.