MONTREAL, April 26, 2010 — CN (TSX:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) today marked the launch of Rail Safety Week through May 2, 2010 with CN Police Chief Stephen Covey vowing
no compromise in the fight to end accidents, injuries and fatalities on and near railway crossings, tracks and property.
Covey said: “What is it going to take to stop people from taking risks? Injuries and fatalities on and near railway crossings, tracks and property must be reduced. At CN, when it comes to safety, there is no compromise. CN is determined to end the tragic loss of life and debilitating injuries — most of them completely avoidable.”
CN’s
no compromise: no accidents - no injuries - no fatalities public awareness campaign will have CN Police officers out in full force across the company’s rail network, conducting safety blitz operations at railway crossings and commuter stations in about 150 locations across Canada and the United States. They will alert motorists and pedestrians to the importance of safety at grade crossings and warn them about the dangers of trespassing.
In 2009, there were 256 grade crossing and railway trespassing accidents across Canada, causing 71 deaths and 36 serious injuries, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Trespassing remains the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in Canada, and last year these fatalities increased by almost 10 per cent over the number in 2008.
“We will continue to use education and prevention but we are going to be even tougher on enforcement,” said Covey. “We will not tolerate people who put their lives — and the lives of others — at risk by disobeying railway crossing signals and gates or trespassing on our railway property.”
CN is asking all provinces to make safety at railway crossings an integral part of driver education — for new drivers and truck and school bus drivers — and to impose tougher penalties for violations at crossings and for trespassing. CN also urges citizens to write to their provincial Minister of Transport to demand mandatory rail safety education for drivers and stiffer penalties for violations. (Link to Rail Safety Week information:
http://www.cn.ca/railsafetyweek)
The public can also help CN Police fight unsafe behaviour by calling CN Police at 1-800-465-9239 or local police at 911 to report someone disobeying signals at railway crossings or trespassing on railway property. Making such a call could help save a life.
Operation Lifesaver and its partners created Rail Safety Week in 2003 to raise public awareness of the potential dangers at highway/railway crossings and from trespassing on railway property.
CN has been promoting railway safety for more than 25 years through its
All Aboard for Safety community education program. Every year, CN Police officers make hundreds of
All Aboard for Safety presentations and talks to more than 300,000 children and adults at schools and community events in Canada and the United States about the importance of safety and the dangers of walking or playing on or near railway tracks. Part of the strength of this program is the collaborative relationship with major community safety partners Operation Lifesaver, Safe Kids Canada, Safe Communities Canada, SMARTRISK and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
CN (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI) – Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries – spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company’s website at
www.cn.ca.
Link to photos:
http://www.newscanada.com/default.asp?pagename=media&content=getcontent&type=pr&articleID=cn_images2010
http://www.newscanada.com/default.asp?pagename=media&content=getcontent&type=pr&articleID=cn_images2010_2
Link to video:
http://newscanada.com/tvasx/nc3297.asx
For more information about the CN safety blitzes in your area, see the attached list.
For an interview with the CN Police Chief, contact:
Media Contacts:
British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba
Marci Desroches
306-540-4711
Ontario
Frank Binder
905-669-3128
Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
Julie Senécal
514-399-4048
Available on satellite:
Monday, April 26, 2010
10:00-10:30 Eastern and again at 14:00-14:30 Eastern
Anik F2C/3B @ 111.1 West
Vertical Polarization, D/L Freq. 3820 MHz.
Audio subcarriers 6.8 left, 6.2 right
For assistance with the feed, call 1-800-565-1471.