Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13) issued the following statement after the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) today announced that it would fine Canadian National (CN) $250,000 and extend by one year the Board’s oversight of the railroad’s operation after the railroad “knowingly violated the Board’s orders” to report more than 1,400 crossing blockages in a two month period after its takeover of Chicago’s suburban Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (EJ&E) line:
 
       “Last April, an audit found that Canadian National had kept regulators in the dark about the impact that its freight trains were having on suburban residents.  These trains were severing communities, blocking major roads, and cutting off first responders on a regular basis.
 
       “Today’s decision by the STB is a clear rejection of the empty excuses offered by CN for its failure to report more than 1,400 blocked crossings over just two short months.  Given the severity of the problem, I think the STB should have taken even stronger action and forced CN to reimburse local communities for the congestion and disruption they caused.  In the broad view of things, $250,000 is a paltry sum compared to the expense that these communities will have to bear in order to mitigate the safety and traffic concerns caused by CN.  And this fine will be paid to the federal government, not local communities.
 
       “Still, I am pleased that the STB sent a clear signal that CN had violated both the letter and the spirit of its legal obligations, and that future violations would not be tolerated.  Extending the oversight and reporting period for this railway operation an extra year also will help give local residents some certainty that regulators will be watching should more errors or omissions occur in the future.  As we heard at last April’s hearing, CN’s reporting failure has already placed the STB’s oversight a year behind, and today’s action will help put us back on track.”
 
Editor’s Note: Today’s announcement was issued in response to the April 21, 2010 release by the STB of the findings of a third party audit showing that while CN reported only 14 blocked crossings lasting 10 minutes or more between November and December of 2009, automatically-generated data showed 1,457 instances, involving 85 different crossings on the former EJ&E line, where the crossing signal system was activated and the gates were in the down position for periods exceeding 10 minutes.  For more information, visit http://www.stb.dot.gov.

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