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>From the Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C.
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The Federal Surface Transportation Board today directed Canadian National
Railway Company to come before the Board and explain the significant
differences between information on street-crossing blockages in the Chicago
area that the railroad has provided to the Board and the results of an
independent audit conducted by the Board.
The Board requires Canadian National to report every
street-crossing blockage of 10 minutes or more as a
condition of its 2008 acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and
Eastern Railway Company. In its November and December 2009
monthly reports, the railroad reported a total of 14
blockages caused by stopped trains. But an independent audit
conducted on behalf of the Board by its third-party
consultant, HDR Inc., found 1,457 instances during that same
period of crossings blocked for 10 minutes or more by
stopped or slowly moving trains.
The Board today directed Canadian National and HDR to appear
at a hearing in Washington on April 28 to explain why
Canadian National's submissions to the Board on crossing
blockages of 10 minutes or more differ from data
automatically reported by its own crossing gates and why the
railroad did not disclose that it had such information. The
Board also ordered the railroad to include all
street-crossing blockages of 10 minutes or more, whether as
a result of stopped trains or slow-moving trains, in its
future reports. The Board also directed the railroad to
supplement any previous reports that omit data for lengthy
delays caused by slow-moving trains.
As part of the merger approval decision, the Board
established numerous environmental and other conditions,
including a five-year monitoring and oversight period and
the establishment of a Web site,
www.stbfinancedocket35087.com, to inform the public on
oversight matters.
The Board tasked HDR to audit Canadian National's compliance
efforts after numerous complaints by community and elected
leaders. The Board also sent questionnaires to the affected
communities to solicit comments about concerns about the
railroad's operations and compliance.
The decision and conditions are included in the decision
Canadian National Ry. and Grand Trunk Corp.,-Control-EJ&E
West Co., STB Finance Docket No. 35087
( http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/WebDecisionID/40753?OpenDocument )
. Documents are available at www.stb.dot.gov.
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