Brothers and Sisters,

Attached is further to the ongoing rash of derailments at CP along with the company's response.

The most telling statement here is from CP's PR guy, Mark Seland. "CP Rail doesn't refute the derailments occurred, but there haven't been more than usual", Seland said.

Now there is a committment to safety on the part of this multi billion dollar corporation. Three major derailments in 10 days, two of them with dangerous commodities involved and one of them causing an evacuation in Canmore, AB. But hey, that's just business as usual at CPR. With that kind of cavalier attitude, its no wonder the railway is in such a mess. I hope that Seland was not speaking on behalf of CEO Fred Green, but I fear that he probably was.

We are hearing, unofficially, that the Winchester derailment originated at a set of composite angle bars, though as Seland says, the investigation could drag out for months.  We do know that there has been rail replacement on the Winchester sub schedued since 2006 and that it hasn't been done yet. We also know that we have had concerns about angle bars (especially composite bars) but the company would not meet with us to discuss these concerns. They instead forced us to seek help from Transport Canada. 

CPRail has to stop deferring critical renewal projects and start investing more into their infrastructure. They have to work towards the day when it will be unusual for these kind of derailments to be happening. And we have to be committed to working towards insuring that they get there. 

Remember safety is much too important to leave in the hands of management.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay united,

Bill Brehl
President
TCRCMWED

Union, CP Rail dispute safety record after derailments
Updated Sat. Feb. 7 2009 5:07 PM ET

The Canadian Press

TORONTO -- A railway workers union president is clashing with Canadian Pacific Rail over safety after several train derailments in the past two weeks.

The president of the union representing railway maintenance workers is calling on Canadian Pacific Rail (TSX:CP) to invest more money in its lines, but the company maintains its safety record is tops in North America.

William Brehl, who heads the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, said he's looking for the company to inject cash after a 20-car derailment in west Quebec.

No one was hurt when the cargo train went off the tracks near Dalhousie Mills, Que. at about 4 a.m. Friday. Most of the cars were empty, while four were carrying used automotive parts.

Several minor and two major derailments have also occurred on the CP Rail lines in Canmore, Alta. and Thunder Bay, Ont. since late January.

"We're concerned that the infrastructure of the railways in Canada isn't at a safety level it should be at," Brehl said, adding he believes the latest incident could have been avoided.

On Feb. 3, the union sent a letter to Transport Canada outlining concerns the line carrying those cars was in disrepair, Brehl said. He added the same line had been earmarked for maintenance since 2005.

"I think there's a direct correlation. When you stop doing the maintenance (and) when you stop taking care of the track -- but you keep running trains -- eventually they go on the ground."

However, there was no letter or conversation about the same concern received by CP Rail, said its spokesman Mark Seland.

"It's irresponsible to indicate that an accident was unavoidable when a determination of cause has not been made," he said, adding it can take days or months to conduct an investigation.

CP Rail doesn't refute the derailments occurred, but there haven't been more than usual, Seland said.

"Canadian Pacific is the safest railway in North America and it has been for the 10 of the past 12 years," he said, referring to a designation by the U.S.-based Federal Railroad Administration.

"Canadian Pacific has the lowest frequency of train incidents per year in all of North America."

Brehl said he believes the derailments are resulting from cuts by the company to previously planned upkeep work and track and equipment maintenance staff.

However, Seland said CP Rail takes care in prioritizing where work is done, and, while layoffs have occurred in the system, it didn't include workers in the area of the recent derailment.

"Across (25, 760 kilometres) and 2,000 (track maintenance workers), plans can change daily. It doesn't represent any sort of systematic easement of safety practises."