13 April 2010

Train Improvements 75% Complete:  CPR

A bear feeds on grain spilled along the tracks.

Banff National Park - Canadian Pacific Railway has completed 75 percent of its program to fix or replace hopper cars to curb the amount of grain dumped on train tracks in the park.
 
Back in 2007, CPR promised to dedicate $20 million over five years to upgrade 6,300 rail cars to prevent large grain spills on tracks frequented by wildlife.
 
CPR spokesperson Breanne Feigel said the company has completed over half of the repairs and could be done with the project by early 2011.
 
While CPR has committed to fixing faulty cars, Feigel said it's sometimes human error that can cause spills when the gates on the cars are not closed properly.
 
"CP doesn't load the cars themselves with the product so sometimes there are gates that aren't loaded properly and aren't closed," she said. "Sometimes it's not just because a hopper car is broken or malfunctioning that there's leaks."
 
Feigel said they're working on educating crews that load the grain to help curb those issues and reduce the amount dumped on tracks in the park that attract wildlife.
 
Though currently Feigel said, "absolutely, there are some leaky cars that go through the park."
 
Bears, elk, deer, and other wildlife are often drawn to train tracks in search of food. Once they're given the reward of grain, they return to the tracks, increasing the chances they might be hit by a train while feeding.
 
Wild Canada Conservation Alliance executive director Jim Pissot recently sent a letter to CPR president and CEO Fred Green, thanking him for the company's efforts to improve their rail cars, but urging him to continue working to protect the wildlife that live in Banff.
 
"I have been pleased to observe the number of grain hopper cars that appear to have been retro-fitted with revised and stronger discharge gates. Looks like your crews are making good progress in this massive effort," Pissot wrote. "Of course, faulty and hastily-loaded cars still leak some grain (e.g., near Castle, March 2010), rewarding grizzlies who come searching for an easy meal after hibernation. We trust your crews will be extra diligent over the next several weeks.
 
"We look forward to your ongoing efforts to reduce grain spills and conserve wildlife in Banff."
 
MP Blake Richards met with CPR officials last month to raise concerns about grain being dumped on tracks in the park.
 
"As long as there is any amount of spillage is there is work to do," he said. "I don't know if you can ever eliminate something like that, but I think they have to do everything they possibly can to limit it."
 
Richards said while he understood some spills are not the fault of CPR because of loading errors, "they have to find a way to deal with it."
 
"It's a big issue. To CP's credit, I think they recognize it and understand it as well."
 
Larissa Barlow.