CN rolls out public awareness campaign to mark Rail Safety Week 2014

Trespassing remains the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States

HOMEWOOD, IL, April 28, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - With trespassing remaining the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States, CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) is marking Rail Safety Week through May 4, 2014, 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.

"We will not tolerate that individuals put their lives and those of others at risk", says CN Police Chief Stephen Covey. "Too many people die from injuries sustained while trespassing on railway property in USA and those fatalities are avoidable. The railway is not a safe place for children to play and it is not safe for adults to take short cuts across it. It is important to remember that when you see tracks, think trains!"

In 2013, there were 943 grade crossing accidents and 908 trespassing accidents in the United States. Crossing accidents caused 250 fatalities, while 476 people died in trespassing accidents. More than 50 per cent of trespassing incidents resulted in fatalities.

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.

For more information about the CN safety initiatives in your area, click here.

CN Police work year-round to reduce trespassing and crossing incidents, fatalities and injuries, by identifying the highest risk areas 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 and Parachute.

CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting approximately C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America. CN - Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries -- serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., 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.

SOURCE: CN

For an interview with the CN Police, contact:
Méliane Etien
Media relations
News Canada
1 888 855-6397, ext. 236
[email protected]