Railway Safety Act Secretariat

August 9, 2007

Railway Safety Act Secretariat

Suite 901-180 Elgin Street

Ottawa, ON

K2P 2K3

RE: Recommendation that Train Speed be reduced to 30 mph when passing in proximity to workers and On-Track living Accommodations to reduce risk and improve railway safety.

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Todd Cotie and I am submitting this letter to the Railway Safety Act Review panel for consideration.

I have been employed by CN Rail since 1995 as a Machine Operator and a Bridge Carpenter. Currently, I'm the Health and Safety Coordinator for the United Steelworkers Local 2004, representing 3,200 track maintenance workers across Canada.

Our members maintain the track so trains can travel safely. From small local maintenance crews responsible for general localized track maintenance to larger traveling work crews of 20 or more employees responsible for larger projects like rail replacement and tie replacement. My concern is the current speed that trains are allowed to pass in close proximity to our workers on adjacent tracks is too fast and unsafe. Currently, when trains pass a railway maintenance crew, the presence of that crew has no bearing on speed limit. Whether there is a crew there or not, the movement is limited only by the condition of the track. Freight trains can maintain their speed of 65 miles an hour, and passenger trains 100 miles an hour right past workers. The presence of work crews is ignored. This is not right. Tracks are only eight feet apart, rail to rail; one with work crews, the other with trains. The force of a train passing at 100 miles an hour can blow a worker's helmet off from their head. Work crews often have difficulty clearing for these passing trains on a work site, because of tripping hazards, ties, rails, uneven ballast, etc. High embankments, reduced shoulders, deep snow, bridges, flying debris from the trains or dragging equipment from the trains also create an increased risk to the worker. God forbid if a train derailed beside a work crew. I would like to recommend that trains be ordered a speed reduction of 30 mph maximum when trains pass in proximity to workers on adjacent mainline tracks. A slower train would allow engineers and work crews more time to notice and react to various situations that occur from the passing train. Slow downs are safer.

My recommendation of 30 miles per hour is based on various rules including the speed that trains pass in proximity to occupied on track living accommodations (boarding cars) adjacent to the track, eight feet away, the same as a work crew would be. There are rules in CP Rail’s general operating instructions (9.12) to reduce train speed to 30 miles per hour when passing boarding cars within 30 feet of centre of track, which would mean the siding and the back-track. I have fought for the last few years with CN to adopt similar rules and they have since issued an order of 30 miles per hour for trains passing occupied boarding cars parked on adjacent tracks.

Also, the speed of a train carrying hazardous materials through populated areas has been regulated and reduced to 35 miles per hour; however, the same train passing railway crews does not necessarily have to reduce its speed to 35 if it is out of the designated populated areas. Railway work crews should be given the same consideration and made aware of the actual hazardous material contained in the rail cars passing their work sites. This makes sense, both from a worker's right-to-know perspective, as well as from a preventative joint management–union approach to health and safety.

As a simple analogy, when highway work crews are on the road, speed limits for motorists are reduced and fines for speeding are increased. Provincial governments are actively enforcing appropriately increased safety measures when traffic passes crews. The logic behind this ought to apply to railways, but it does not.

With Railways allowed to essentially self manage safety through SMS, added to the ever increasing length and weight of trains, downsizing of personnel and the neglect of rail maintenance; a tragedy near workers is more probable than ever. The fact remains that derailments are on the rise in Canada and for CN Rail in particular. The Kingston subdivision, CN Rail’s double mainline stretch of track adjacent to the Highway 401 and the basis for the particular concern of train speed past work crews, has had several derailments in the past few years.

Thus far, the variables that have been used by various railways to maintain the status quo concerning the speed of trains traveling past workers and living quarters have been their self proclaimed safety record, the condition of their track, their inspection systems and current regulations governing such – all of which have been publicly questioned as of late. Sadly, the variables that haven’t been considered are the Human Factor and Common Sense. Regardless of how cautious, trained or experienced workers are in any field – occasional errors do happen and should not be unexpected. Although human error can not be completely avoided, there is no scientific way to determine how or when accidents will occur. It is this unpredictability of the very people working near, living near or for that matter operating the fast moving trains that becomes the uncontrollable factor that adds to the risk posed by the passing trains themselves. I strongly believe that establishing laws to reduce the speed past said conditions is the feasible and controllable variable in this particular equation that will greatly reduce the risk. Slowing trains down near work allows for more time to better react to potential dangers like loose banding swinging from a train car, falling debris or dragging equipment – all of which have caused damage and near misses in the past but are rarely if ever reported. Slowing trains down allows employees time to inspect passing trains more thoroughly to detect the above dangers and prevent occurrences from happening down the railway line. Quite simply, slowing trains down provides a better opportunity to get out of the way.

This is not a hypothetical issue. Passing trains do kill workers. On Thursday, April 19, 2007, a CN maintenance worker was killed near Cornwall by a train passing at full speed on double main-line track. When workers, whether they are in our union or not, are working on main track, sidings, backtracks, that are near another active line, trains should, at the very least, slow down to 30 miles an hour while passing a work crew. This would dramatically increase safety without placing any undue burden on CN's productivity. I believe this to be a reasonable request, when considered that the safest way to perform track work would be for no trains to pass workers.

I understand railways do not want to slow down traffic at all because it may negatively affects their bottom line; however, I believe that the few minutes of delay that would result in slowing a 65 mph freight or 100 mph passenger train to 30 mph when passing work crews is well worth the security of the railways’ most valuable resources – people. Also, if the rules governing such were consistent and fair for all Canadian railways, the competitive motive not to slow down trains would no longer be applicable. As stated, road and highway construction zones have reduced speed limits through adjacent work sites to protect both the traffic driving past and the employees working near such work. Trucking companies have to deal with the delays caused by this but must accept the reasons why the reduced speed is necessary. If railways can’t voluntarily accept the same reasoning, they must be legislated to.

Thank you,

Todd Cotie