(CN issued the following on April 26.)
MONTREAL — Marking the launch of Rail Safety Week from April 28 to May 4, 2008, CN announced today that it will enforce a strict Zero Tolerance policy toward all those who trespass on railway property. CN Police officers will be out in full force this week, conducting their annual safety blitz operations at highway/railway crossings in about 150 locations across Canada and the United States, alerting motorists to the importance of safety at crossings and cautioning them about the serious risks and dire consequences of trespassing.
Since 2001, statistics reveal a constant increase in trespassing incidents, serious injuries and fatalities, while numbers for crossing accidents are steadily improving. For example, in recent years, the number of trespassing accidents has increased from 83 in 2005 to 92 in 2006 and reached a staggering 100 for 2007*. The trend is even more evident when compared with the 2001-2005 yearly average of 80 accidents. The consequences of trespassing incidents are extremely worrisome since more than 90 per cent of accidents result in either fatalities or serious injuries. The general trend is totally unacceptable according to CN.
CN Police Chief Serge Meloche said: “This is a matter of life and death. When people trespass on railway property, they take risks that can result in serious injuries and fatalities. CN Police is taking action. Anyone found trespassing on railway property may be fined. Over the years, we’ve seen it all. Trespassers are putting their lives on our line. Now, we have to stop it. It’s Zero Tolerance for trespassers.”
Trespassing includes walking, playing or running on or beside railway tracks; driving a bike, a car, an ATV, a snowmobile or any other vehicle on or beside railway tracks; taking a shortcut across railway tracks or railway property; and entering railway yards at any time. (See links for photos and video below.)
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 talk 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 and 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).
Rail Safety Week was created in 2003 by Operation Lifesaver and its partners to raise public awareness of the potential dangers at highway/railway crossings and from trespassing on railway property.
CN – 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, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company’s website at http://www.cn.ca/