A Kamloops-based locomotive engineer who was fired by CN Rail after becoming distracted and blowing through a stop signal in the North Thompson has been reinstated after an arbitrator ruled the dismissal was not a fair punishment.

Engineer J. Parent was dismissed following the incident, described in the arbitrator’s decision as a violation of a “cardinal rule” for railway workers.

On July 31, 2023, Parent was operating a CN Rail engine headed south toward Kamloops through the North Thompson, and he was notified more than once about a requirement to stop near Clearwater.

Despite having ample time to slow down, the train’s crew initiated emergency braking near Clearwater and came to a rest eight car lengths farther down the track than they were supposed to be — a serious transgression in

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