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

HOMEWOOD, IL, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - With trespassing remaining the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States, CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) is launching its annual public awareness campaign stressing the deadly risks of trespassing on railway tracks and property. CN is also working with communities to try to keep people safe by keeping them away from the tracks.

CN Police are urging the public to call CN Police at 1-800-465-9239 to report unsafe behavior on railway property.

In 2014, there were 945 trespassing incidents in the United States that caused 419 fatalities. More than 44 per cent of trespassing incidents resulted in fatalities.

"Trespassing fatalities are entirely preventable," says CN Police Chief Stephen Covey. "No member of the public needs to be or ever should be on the tracks on or rail property. The railway is not a safe place for children to play and it is not safe for adults to take short cuts across it."

During Rail Safety Week, CN's Security Team comes out in full force in partnership with Operation Lifesaver, conducting safety initiatives at commuter stations and railroad crossings. CN employees across the company are engaged to help spread the word on rail safety but we need the help of the communities we serve, schools and our partners because education about rail safety is everyone's responsibility. Together, we can help save lives.

"Grade-crossing accidents represented another serious type of rail incident. In 2014, there were 1,099 grade crossing incidents in the United States with 267 of these resulting in fatalities. These tragedies can be prevented simply by obeying the crossing signals. Trains cannot stop quickly and they cannot swerve to avoid a collision."

CN has written to 209 communities across the country, informing them that this year's annual Rail Safety Week in the United States will be held from April 27 to May 3.

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

Their basic rail safety messages are: 


    --  Never walk or play on train tracks. It's dangerous and illegal.
    --  Never play or stay near a stopped train.
    --  Cross train tracks at designated highway/railroad crossings.
    --  Look for signals and respect them.
    --  Be prepared to stop at crossings.
    --  Cross the tracks in low gear; do not change gears while crossing.
    --  Stalled vehicle? Get out quickly and move away from the vehicle and
        tracks.
    --  Listen for warning bells and whistles when approaching a crossing.
    --  Remember a train can hide another.
    --  Keep the CN Police number handy: 1-800-465-9239.

For further details on these safety tips, please 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.

Operation Lifesaver and its partners created Rail Safety Week in 2003 to raise public awareness of the potential dangers at highway/railway crossings and from trespassing on railway property.

CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than 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