CN Western V.P. Tries to Ease Safety Worries

By 250 News

CN's Vice President Western Region, Peter Marshall, and the company's Manager of Public and Government Affairs, Jim Feeny  sat before Council tonight, to address safety concerns.  

The meeting came about as a result of  a motion presented to Council by Councilor Don Zurowski  (see previous story) in December of last year.

Marshall admits,  the timing of the  request for  this meeting was perfect as CN knows it had a less than stellar year and it is time to take a look at what has been learned and what can be done.  CN employees  approximately 500 people in Prince George.

"Of course the Cheakamus situation is something we continue to be involved in as well as the Lake Wabamun incident " said Marshall.  He says there are three parts of the railroad, 
1. Engineering  : the railbed, and they have increased inspections on the rails and the railbed
2. Mechanical :  increased visual inspections and inspections on the locomotives and cars
3. Transportation:   the people component,  no matter how small the incident,  there has been a significant amount of time spent with the people to see how an incident unfolds, and all aspects are examined. 

To that end, a safety task force has been estabished.

"I think we can see a significant reduction in incidents" says Marshall, who says there has been a  60 - 70% drop in problems, and so far this year, there hasn't been any accident in B.C.

Councilor Brian Skakun asked if the rail line would be continuing with the long trains.  Marshall doesn't think it's a matter of long trains versus short  "I think the issue is , are we taking the time to train people properly?"

Councilor Deborah Munoz wanted to know more about toxic cargo.  Specifically, she asked about training for communities through which CN runs trains carrying such materials,  if the railway uses double hulled cars and what kind of training engineers get  in order to deal with hazardous materials.
"We work with local fire, police  and follow the local lead for emergency preparedness."  says Marshall.  "Tanks cars are, for the most part, owned by the shippers and they adhere to the regulations they must follow.  We don't put in specifications  or manufacture the cars." as for training, "All Engineers have to be trained and have to  face retraining every three years."

"I feel very confident  that we have a significant amount of support among shippers, that we take safety seriously" Marshall told Council "I don't know if as a society  we can eliminate everything, but we are certainly working hard to reduce the risk out there each and every day. " says Marshall. 

If something happened, ( like a train  jumping the track and causing a spill in the Nechako river, Marshall says there are people in Prince George who are trained to deal with  any such incident, however "I can bet I would get a phonecall within ten minutes"  says Marshall.  He would be prepared to return to Prince George to show people  how an emergency plan would kick into gear.

How about an inland container port?  Good question ,says Peter Marshall,  and there's lots  of interest in such  a project, so he told Council there is nothing definitive, but  certainly  he has been involved in discussions with a number of investors although nothing has been finalized yet.

Marshall told Council "I very much respect Council for taking the initiative and having us here ... we have an obligation to be a strong corporate citizen and it starts with safety."

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