I have never heard of people that upset with CN doing this.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20050806/ca_pr_on_na/alta_derailment
I don’t know what to say about this… of course CN wants to get thier trains running they are a railroad people, come on!!! and for not seeing any cleanup action yet according to the angry citizens, they should get thier butts out their and actually look. as for CN they best get it together, how many derailments have they had latley 3 or 4 good ones at leat… not good not good at all.
Watching the CBC News, the Alberta Government fully intends to hand CN their own butts if they don’t hurry up. This is really the first major challenge against CN by both a government and citizens over a derailment.
It will be interesting to see how CN responds to this particularly if the general populace intends to block crossings again.
I read the story and it sounds pretty par for the course in these types of situations. Of course people are going to be upset about an oil slick in their lake and when you are in that situation anything less than an instant solution is going to be too slow. However, reading the article doesn’t sound like CN is shirking its responibilities. They have apparently got every boom available in western Canada to clean up the mess, they are acquiring more, they are meeting with residents everyday and have agreed to pay for lawyers to represent the landowners since they realize residents can’t be present all the time. The government of Alberta is doing its part to oversee the cleanup operations. What more should they do?
I have heard about a lot of train accidents on BNSF recently as well. And they have had their own oil spill issues - possibly more avoidable (i.e. don’t build a fuel depot on top of a community water source). I don’t think CN’s record is too far outside of the industry norms.
This is interesting. I have to say this much. Those people have every right to be angry with CN for the derailment and the oil spill. I’m sure if it were another company like Exxon or something they would be just as mad at them. However, I don’t think standing on the tracks blocking the trains from comming in or through is the best solution. I believe in this situation that CN has reconized that thay are resoponceible for this contamination and are taking complete action in cleaning up the mess. Some people have to realize that it’s going to take a real long time to clean something like an oil spill up, these things don’t happen over night. Long after the environmental company, the gov, and CN have cleaned up what they can, there are still going to be traces of it in the water and wildlife. Sad but true. Take a look at the good old ExxonValdese (spelling) the water and habitat in that area and beyond is still somewhat suffering from the accident that happend in the 80s. I do have to say this though. If CN is slacking off in any way, the gov, and others involved in the clean up should get right back on CN’s back.
I agree that is why the government agencies do need to be involved. Most corporations are going to try to balance their responsibilities as good corporate citizens against the need to minimize the associated costs. When they miss the target the government and citizens need to be there to call them on it.
Accidents will happen to all railroads however, its double bad luck when the accident occurs close to a water source and you end up with an environmental situation as well. CN apparently has had a double dose of bad luck this week as this morning about 20 miles north of Vancouver on the old BC Rail line they dumped nine rail cars into a creek. Most were empty lumber cars but one had chemicals which proceeded to drain 50,000 liters of a chemical into the river killing fish and creating an environmental hazard.
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/globaltv/story.html?id=64aad25a-eae5-47f6-a53f-cbc335e35f3f
I have heard a number of people saying frankly “Why can’t they keep their frigg’n trains on their tracks”? I know accidents happen and other railroads have derailments but is this more acceptable just because BNSF or UP has done it more often?
I don’t even care from a shareholder’s perspective; the very fact that people’s drinking wells have been effected in B.C is a problem. I wonder when Green Peace is going to start giving them a hard time?
The derailment are more of the same problem lack of maitainance, poor quality of maintainance or human error which all stems from the operative word…lack; and this is how to run a business at least until the feds nail you to the wall but the money was all worth it. I don’t care what other people think, this is unacceptable behavior from a large business that if was a chemical company like Hooker Chemical, it would have been in a sling for a Love Canal incident like this-the only difference thank God is that nobody thus far has consumed the waters.
I know I sure would like to see the railroads reduce the amount of accidents and derailments. It sounds embarassing to have another wreck, even if statisticaly it is at an acceptable level it should still be improved. It can be improved.
Doesn’t Green Peace give everyone a hard time? (I hope nobody on this site uses plastic bags to transport their groceries home from the store or Green Peace will probably also becoming after them too).
It seems like the topic of the Feds or Provincial governments “nailing” CN to the wall for labor issues, environmental issues, maintenance issues etc is a common theme on this site. I am curious when are the Feds going to nail CN to the wall and what does that mean anyway? Will CN be shut-down, sold off to more socialist owners (i.e. SNCF) who will make sensure they never derail another tank car near water again, fined millions of dollars or will a simple slap on the wrist qualify as getting nailed to the wall?
Heavy fines for one, maybe a RCMP investigation on negligence.
By all means if you want to be dismissive and arrogant about it, go to Squamish B.C and quench your thrist.[:(!]
An RCMP investigation!? Aren’t they same people who investigated the Air India disaster? If I recall correctly, that investigation took 20+ years and ended up in a not guilty verdict. My, that is bad news for CN management.
My point is that obviously people are getting angry enough to actually block crossings, the governments are going to have to do something. As the Liberal government in a minority and the Conservatives mostly from Alberta looking for any excuse to pass a vote of non-confidence, the government might have to get politically self-preserving.