Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says he is troubled by a sharp increase in the number of runaway trains and equipment in the rail industry last year, and wants to dramatically reduce those numbers as soon as possible.

"My goal is to bring it down to zero. I am meeting with the railway companies, I am working with the department, it's my No. 1 mandate … to reduce those numbers to as low as possible," Mr. Garneau said in an interview.

Mr. Garneau's comments come after the Transportation Safety Board said last week that it was concerned about a jump in the number of incidents reported in the sector in 2015. Two years earlier, a runaway oil train led to Canada's worst modern-day rail disaster.

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There were 42 incidents of runaways in 2015, in which a train or a piece of unattached equipment, such as a rail car, rolled away, TSB chairwoman Kathy Fox told The Globe and Mail.

That figure represents a significant increase over the 30 cases of runaways reported in 2014, and is higher than the five-year average of 36 incidents a year.

A runaway oil train killed 47 people in 2013 when it was left unattended for the night, with the brakes improperly set, and rolled down an incline toward the town of Lac-Mégantic, Que. The train, carrying more than 70 tanker cars of highly volatile crude oil, derailed in the heart of the town, causing massive explosions.

The rail industry is required to report all incidences of runaway trains or equipment, and most do not involve accidents or injuries. If a rail car unexpectedly rolls away in a rail yard, for example, that would be included in the industry's numbers.

Other cases of runaway trains are far more dangerous, but don't always lead to disaster. In March, a rail car filled with asphalt rolled away from a refinery in Regina after its brakes were improperly set. The car, which belonged to Cando Rail Services, rolled through the city, crossing seven streets, before eventually coming to a stop just after midnight. There were no collisions or injuries.

Although runaways rarely lead to the kind of catastrophe seen in Lac-Mégantic, Mr. Garneau said the increase in incidents last year troubles him.

"Yes, of course it does," he said, adding that reducing the runaway figure to zero may not be possible. "Nothing is going to be perfect. Is [the current number] good enough? No it isn't. … We have to improve the situation."

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Transport Canada now has the ability to fine railways for unsafe practices. Mr. Garneau said that tool, which was introduced last year, is something he expects to use as a deterrent. Three weeks after the incident in Regina, the department fined Cando Rail Services more than $109,000, including one penalty for not setting the brakes properly, and another for not following proper emergency procedures when the car rolled away.

The government also fined Canadian Pacific Railway more than $58,000 in May for a series of incidents over the past year when the railway failed to ensure some of its freight cars were free of safety defects. Canadian National Railway was also fined more than $45,000 in December for allowing equipment to stand at a rail crossing in Manitoba, which led to "the unnecessary operation of warning devices." CN is appealing the fine.

"I have availed myself of that tool," Mr. Garneau said of the administrative penalties. "Part of it is to send a message. I've used it three times and I will use it as circumstances require. Because I think it is important to make clear … that [safety] is a serious issue."

As the three-year anniversary of the July, 2013, Lac-Mégantic disaster approaches, TSB chairwoman Ms. Fox told The Globe last week that several of the recommendations the board made to Transport Canada after the deadly accident are yet to be fully implemented. The TSB investigates rail accidents and issues recommendations to the government on how to bolster safety.

Of the five recommendations the TSB made, Ms. Fox said four of them, including changes to train securement rules and the introduction of stronger tanker cars, are still classified as either "satisfactory intent" or "satisfactory in part," meaning they haven't been fulfilled to the TSB's liking.

In a technical briefing with The Globe on the matter, a Transport Canada official said part of the reason those recommendations haven't been deemed complete three years after the disaster is that some of them require ongoing study to see if the proposed changes are working, and those studies are not yet over. Others, such as the introduction of new tanker cars, will take a few years given the size of the rail car fleet in North America.

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Mr. Garneau said he appreciates the TSB's concerns. "I'm eager to try to close off these files as quickly as possible," he said. "If I can speed it up, I will, but there are also certain practical things that I have to take into account."