CN marks Rail Safety Week 2012

Public awareness campaign aimed at reducing trespassing fatalities

HOMEWOOD,  Ill., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - With trespassing being the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States, CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) is marking Rail Safety Week through May 6, 2012, with a public awareness campaign stressing the deadly risks of trespassing on railway tracks and property. CN Police are urging the public to call CN Police at 1- 800-465-9239 to report unsafe behavior on railway property.

CN Police Chief Bobby Walker said: "Disobeying railway crossing signals or trespassing on railway property is dangerous and illegal. We will not tolerate people who put their lives and those of others at risk. Through a combination of education and enforcement, we aim to change attitudes and behaviors towards rail safety. We must reduce injuries and fatalities on or near railway crossings, tracks, and CN property."

CN Police will be out in full force during Rail Safety Week, conducting safety initiatives at commuter stations, CN intermodal terminals and railway crossings in the United States and Canada. CN will visit commuter stations to target a larger audience of rail users, particularly parents who will be urged to pass on safety information to their children.

In 2011, there were 2,736 grade crossing and railway trespassing accidents in the United States, causing 692 fatalities, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. More than 55 per cent of trespassing incidents resulted in fatalities.

CN Police are rolling out a year-round initiative to reduce trespassing incidents, fatalities and injuries. CN Police will intensify their outreach to young people, who are more prone to risk-taking behavior. In addition, CN Police across the system will work to identify the highest risk areas for trespassing and develop targeted strategies to reduce incidents.

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 the United States and Canada 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 and SMARTRISK.

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://newscanada.com/cn-images-2012

Link to video: http://www.cn.ca/en/corporate-citizenship-community-all-aboard-rail-safety-week.htm

For more information about the CN safety blitzes in your area, see the attached list.

Available on satellite:
Video News Release will be available via satellite on
Monday April 30, 2012 at 10:00 - 10:30 and again at 14:00 - 14:30 Eastern
Anik F2C/3B
Download Freq: 3820MHz V
Audio subcarriers 6.8 left, 6.2 right
For assistance with the feed call: 1-800-565-1471

Video News Release also available via download Monday April 30, 2012
Click here to access broadcast quality footage: http://www.newscanada.com/mpgdownload.asp?id=5386
Please contact [email protected] if you do not have your Login ID and Password.

2012 Safety Initiatives Locations

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE CN