Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, making it one of the worst rail accidents in Canada.

Via Rail Canada Inc., operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada.

On February 8, 1986, in what is now part of Yellowhead County, Alberta, Canada, 23 people were killed in a collision between a Canadian National Railway freight train and a Via Rail passenger train called the Super Continental, including the engine crews of both trains.

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. It is one of Canada's two main freight rail companies, along with Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

Hinton is a town in the foothills of Alberta, Canada, with a population of 9,817. It is in Yellowhead County, 81 km (50 mi) northeast of Jasper and about 284 km (176 mi) west of Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, at the intersection of the Yellowhead and Bighorn Highways. Situated on the south bank of the Athabasca River, Hinton is on Treaty 6 territory.

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 326 days remain until the end of the year.