The lawyer representing the train engineer in the Lac-Megantic disaster is going to ask to have the case thrown out because it's taking too long to go to trial.

Tom Harding faces 47 charges of criminal negligence causing death in connection with the 2013 derailment and inferno.

His trial is not scheduled to begin until September 2017, more than three years after he was charged.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that criminal trials have been taking too long, and said that a trial should happen within 30 months of an accused being charged.

Since that ruling many people accused of crimes have seen their charges dismissed -- even for crimes as serious as first degree murder.

Opposition parties in Quebec are pressuring the Liberal government to give the courts and crown prosecutors more resources to prevent delays in criminal cases.

Harding, along with Montreal Main and Atlantic Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway, is also named in a class action lawsuit filed by suvivors and their relatives.

Two dozen other companies and individuals formerly named in that case agreed to contribute $450 million to a settlement fund.