CN and accounting

[Puddington]

CN today made it clear that they did not suffer yet another major derailment - they report that only one car derailed and, as is now company policy, the other 12 cars hopped off the tracks of their own accord to render help and assistance to the fallen sulphur tank car.....

Another first in rail safety for CN; Canada's "Crash Naturally"...............

When is someone in the TSB going to take these guys to task...........?

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/train-derails-west-edmonton-163217117.html

[magicman_841]

CN upper management -- what a joke.

[lock4244]

Trains have been derailing since they were first invented, and will continue to do so until the last one turns the last wheel. It is fundamentally dangerous to transport anything by any mode... that nasty bit about mass x acceleration. To characterize any railroad as slipshod every time something derails is nothing more than falling prey to media hyper sensationalism and special interest opportunism. All railroads (even CP) put cars on the ground. Just as place crash, ships sink, and trucks jack-knife.

Penn Central didn't maintain its plant and equipment very well. CN and it's contemporaries do.

[Hyperion]

BNSF and UP each put a train on the ground to a degree warranting FRA-reporting every other day; and many times that not significant enough to warrant FRA reporting.

How many make the news?  Virtually none.

CSX actually puts significantly less trains on the ground per train-mile that it operates than anyone -- but they have a horrible reputation regardless.  Media sensationalism at its finest.

I don't know about CN's record in Canada, but have no reason to doubt it's appreciably different than it is on their trackage in the US.  Here, they (and the rest of the industry) have shown consistent improvement for the past decade, and this year CN is on track to put just a third as many trains on the ground as they did just a few years ago.

[Puddington]

Yes, but this is a railway that has been crowing about record impovements in both safety and on time delivery only to now face over a half dozen claims that they have been fudging recirds, not reporting accidents, spills and derailments all in the name of PR..... CN needs to take a look in the mirror before the government takes interest in their affairs.

[GaryHinshaw]

After reading the CBC report, I worry more about the state of journalism than the state of railroading.  Here is the opening section of the report, quoted verbatim, including punctuation:

Train derails west of Edmonton

Thirteen train cars went off the tracks west of Edmonton early Sunday morning.

Patrick Waldron, a spokesperson for CN Rail, said the train derailed around 1 a.m. MT Sunday near Peers in Yellowhead County, about 180 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Waldron said the 137-car train was en route from Prince George to Edmonton when it derailed.

CN hiding derailments, falsifying stats, employees allege

CN, CP report record profits amid rail scrutiny

Rail safety advocates urge new rules for high-risk cargo 

One of the derailed cars is a dangerous goods tanker carrying sulphur dioxide. The other 12 cars were loaded with lumber.

The dangerous goods car is upright and not leaking, said Waldron, who added there are no environmental concerns or threats to the public at this time.

Fire officials from Yellowhead County have been in touch with CN and have assessed the crash site, but firefighters were not needed.

CN Rail crews are on the scene.

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation; however, the Transportation Safety Board said it will not be sending investigators.

This looks more like a reporters notebook, than a filed story.  Couldn't they spare another 10 minutes to delete the sentence fragments and make at least one multi-sentence paragraph for the lead?   

[lock4244]

Train fall down. Me sad. Bad people make money. Me mad. Mommy and Daddy need to make bad people go away. I could file that as a news item (almost). Anyone else remember that the train that crashed in Megantic was on 'auto-pilot'? Way to vet those facts before reporting...

Love how record profits are bad... trust me Mr Reporter (or Mr Regurgitation), Penn Central was not better with record losses. With the way the media pounce on everything and sensationalize it... I'd under report as well.

[nkalanaga]

"upper management"

One IT forum has a dirty-word-filter, and one of the euphemisms for executive management is "excretive manglement".  The filter has no problems with it...  Firefox's spell checker does, but that's another story.

[Puddington]

Well; as much as I pick on CN I wouldn't compare them to the state of Canadian journalism....that would be unfair to CN ... and any other living creature.....

[magicman_841]

Sounds like someone has a bunch of CN stocks.

[Lenny53]

The situation with CN started occurring on Harrison's watch then he was yanked out of retirement so he can he the same to CP!