Re: Cullen lashes out at oil-by-rail proposal, Friday Oct. 4, 2013.
Editor:
Safety is a priority for CN.
Every day, CN safely moves thousands of cars in Canada filled with products as diversified as grain, lumber, household products and crude
oil.
CN has comprehensive safety programs in place and our safety record reflects longstanding and thorough safety training and efforts to prevent accidents. CN is investing C$2 billion in capital programs in 2013 of which approximately C$1.1 billion is being targeted on track infrastructure to maintain a safe and fluid railway network. In 2012, CN's main track accident performance was the best on record and a 69 per cent improvement over the 2005 performance, based on Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada's published statistics, and the overall trend is continuing in 2013.
At CN, we value the relationships we have with communities in which we operate. Maintaining productive relationships with them is an important priority for us and we actively and regularly engage these communities on matters relevant to their interests. We are also active through a number of municipal organizations including the North Central Local Government Association.
We work closely to help communities and first responders to understand the movement of hazardous materials and how to respond. CN shares information with responsible authorities to develop effective emergency response plans and we work cooperatively with local road authorities to determine the optimal solution to individual circumstances and all decisions are made in adherence with Transport Canada regulations.
CN works hard to resolve community issues in a timely manner. Our Public Inquiry Line (1.888.888.5909 / contact@cn.ca) and Public and Government Affairs managers located across our rail network have a strong mandate to keep the lines of communications open between CN and all our stakeholders.
Emily Hamer
Regional manager,
CN Public and Government Affairs