Great Canadian Railtour Company Submission to the Railway Safety Act Review Panel

Transcription

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2 Great Canadian Railtour Company Submission to the Railway Safety Act Review Panel August 27, 27 Vancouver, BC James E. Terry Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

3 Company Overview In 199, the federal government decided to privatize the daylight rail tourist service operated since 1988 by Via Rail. In the competition that followed, the Great Canadian Railtour Company (GCRC) was awarded the rights to the service. Later that year, Peter Armstrong and several former railroad executives and tourism experts launched the Rocky Mountaineer, a two-day all daylight journey through Canada's West and the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Armstrong is now the principal owner of the largest private rail service in North America. He continues to be actively involved in GCRC while expanding his interests to other ventures including a motor coach company and a hotel. GCRC is part of the Armstrong Group family of companies. Now in its 18 th season, GCRC operates on several routes each day between April and mid-october with limited departures in December. The Rocky Mountaineer train travels eastbound and westbound on the following routes (see attached map): Yellowhead Route between Vancouver, BC and Jasper AB (overnight in Kamloops, BC) Kicking Horse Route between Vancouver, BC and Banff/Calgary, AB (overnight in Kamloops, BC) Fraser Discovery Route between Whistler, BC and Jasper, AB (overnight in Quesnel, BC). The Whistler Mountaineer train provides daily service between North Vancouver and Whistler, BC, travelling northbound in the morning and southbound in the early afternoon also between April and mid- October. GCRC prides itself on offering a luxury rail experience. In 25 and 26, the Rocky Mountaineer was honoured with its most prestigious designation to date - the World Travel Award as the World s Leading Travel Experience by Train. In 27, GCRC expects to host more than 9, guests on the Rocky Mountaineer and more than 4, guests on the Whistler Mountaineer. The company has established an international reputation attracting guests from Canada, the United States (largest market), the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe. Description of Operations 1. Equipment GCRC s rolling stock consists of more than 9 pieces of equipment including: 9 GP4-2 model locomotives built by General Motors originally used by Canadian National Rail and re-built by Alstom in Montreal, Quebec 8 generator coaches 33 RedLeaf service coaches built in 1954 by Canadian Car and Foundry and refurbished by GCRC 16 bi-level GoldLeaf dome coaches custom-built for GCRC by Colorado Railcar Manufacturing LLC in Fort Lupton, Colorado 2 single level Glacier Domes built for GCRC by Industrial Rail Services in Moncton, New Brunswick All rolling stock is stored (during the off season) and maintained at GCRC s 22-acre maintenance yard in Kamloops, BC. 2. Operating Agreements GCRC has agreements with Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) which grant GCRC access to track and infrastructure required for our operations. CN and CPR provide crews Great Canadian Railtour Company Railway Safety Act Review

4 for GCRC trains except on a small section of track in Kamloops between the station, where guests detrain/board, and the GCRC maintenance facility. 3. Safety and Emergency Response GCRC prides itself on offering unsurpassed guest service. Safety is a major focus of the guest service team to ensure an excellent experience for the guest. All onboard staff complete a rigorous annual training program with several days devoted to safety and emergency response procedures. During their first year, onboard crews must successfully pass a series of exams and complete a mentoring program to become a permanent employee. At the maintenance facility in Kamloops, GCRC tradespersons under the direction of a team of maintenance supervisors, many of who have several decades of rail experience, are responsible for inspecting and maintaining all equipment. GCRC has a strong relationship with Transport Canada, which carries out regular inspections of our rolling stock and facilities. GCRC also works with Transport Canada on development and implementation of our Safety Management System. Head office employees from the Operations and Guests Services Departments routinely participate in drills and exercises to test emergency response procedures. Our emergency response plans have been developed to complement the activities of CN and CPR who play a key role in emergency situations pursuant to the terms of our operating agreements. At the corporate level, the Executive Team and other senior managers also review emergency response and recovery protocols on a regular basis. 4. Safety Record GCRC is proud of our safety record with respect to both our guest experience and in our workplaces. Our joint occupational health & safety committee program is well established with committees in every destination in which we operate. We continually strive to reduce our workplace injury rates through training, safety briefings, education programs and job coaching. We are committed to achieving the highest possible standards of safety in all aspects of our operation. It is our goal not only to comply but also to exceed all safety regulations both federal and provincial. Observations on the Rail Safety Act Review As previously mentioned, GCRC has operating agreements with CN and CPR and can only comment favorably on the care and concern shown by these companies when it comes to ensuring the safety of our employees, guests and equipment. Nonetheless, the very existence of our company depends on a safe rail system equipment, infrastructure and management only some aspects of which are under our control. We cannot emphasize enough the need for constant vigilance on the part of all parties including regulatory agencies to ensure a safe and efficient rail system. More specifically, we would like to draw the Panel s attention to the following observations: Transportation Safety Board In May of 26, for the first time in its history, GCRC was involved in an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). The investigation followed a derailment of a portion of our westbound train between Golden and Revelstoke, BC on the Kicking Horse Route. Fortunately, no one suffered any serious physical injury but the incident was an extremely significant event for our guests and employees as well as the company as a whole. In the weeks following the incident, GCRC met with TSB officials who inspected the equipment involved in the derailment and examined the track where the incident occurred. The TSB interviewed several of our employees and we provided a great deal of documentation relating to our training programs and Great Canadian Railtour Company Railway Safety Act Review

5 safety and emergency response procedures. To date, the TSB has not issued a report or provided any information on its findings. We understand such a delay is not unusual. While we appreciate the TSB needs time to complete an investigation and prepare a report, we are concerned that significant delays in this process have a negative impact. In our case, many onboard employees, some of whom were involved in the derailment, regularly ask when the TSB report will be issued. Employees want to know the cause of the derailment. As a company, we want to ensure that any concerns the TSB may find regarding our procedures or equipment are corrected in a timely fashion. We would encourage the Panel to make recommendations on ways that the TSB investigation process can be completed in a timely fashion. Impact of Media Coverage Regarding Rail Safety Another concern for our company is the impact of continued media coverage regarding rail safety. Over the last 2-3 years, we have noticed the media takes a keen interest any time there is a rail accident and reports on such accidents extensively, especially in Western Canada. The general tone of such media reports is that rail transportation is unsafe. We believe that federal agencies need to be doing more to counter this message. We encourage the Review Panel to comment as soon as possible on the general state of rail safety in Canada for the benefit of the employees and guests of companies such as ours, as well as the general public. If there are deficiencies in the regulatory and enforcement branches of the system, we ask the Panel to make specific recommendations for change and do so as soon as possible. We believe the federal government needs to take immediate action to counter the effects of negative media coverage and restore confidence that Canada has a safe rail transportation system. The topic of rail safety is obviously of keen interest to anyone who works in the industry, especially onboard employees. In recent months some of our employees have started to question whether their work environment is safe particularly following media coverage of a rail accident. Our employees know that many aspects of our rail operation are not within the control of GCRC. While we can provide reassurances to our staff, it is difficult to continually respond to concerns which appear in large part driven by ongoing media coverage on the subject of rail safety. Over the long term, continued media reports could impact our ability to recruit and retain employees and even affect our guests. We cannot afford to lose employees or passengers because of concerns that the rail transportation system in Canada is unsafe. Conclusion Thank you for reviewing our submission. If you require additional information or have any questions please contact me. James E. Terry Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Tel: jterry@rockymountaineer.com Great Canadian Railtour Company Railway Safety Act Review

6 WHISTLER MOUNTAINEER AND ROCKY MOUNTAINEER ROUTE MAP Prince George Shelley Red Rock Stoner Woodpecker Willow River Upper Fraser Hansard 1.2 Sinclair Mills Longworth Penny Dome Creek Tete Jaune Cache 4.7 To Prince George TETE JAUNE Harvey 1.9 REDPASS JUNCTION AREA Taverna ROBSON ALBREDA Redpass To Jasper Hixon 46.3 ROBSON 398 Loos Crescent Spur 36.9 Fraser Discovery Route Yellowhead Route Kicking Horse Route Fraser Discovery Route Whistler Mountaineer Route Eastbound Yellowhead/Kicking Horse Routes (CP Rail) Westbound Yellowhead/Kicking Horse Routes (CN Rail) East /West Yellowhead/Kicking Horse Routes Highway Whistler Squamish Mount Currie Pemberton Birken McGilivary 99.4 Whistler Mountaineer Route Porteau Devine To Bella Coola Seton Portage 142 Lillooet Cisco Conrad North Bend 8. QUESNEL Williams Lake Clinton Kelly Lake Lytton Martinson Boston Bar Hell s Gate Pitquah Kerstey Alexandria Marguerite Soda Creek Spences Bridge Wright Mile House Fraser Discovery Route Pavilion 7 Mile House Enterprise Ashcroft Walhachin Black Canyon Tunnel Savona Batchelor Basque/Nepa Tranquille 72.8 Tatton Lac La Hache Lone Butte Kamloops McCracken Campbell Creek Monte Creek Boulder Barriere Chase McLure 94.8 Pritchard SHUSW Squilax 27.8 Clearwater Notch Hill Salmon Arm Lamming Mills 31 Canoe 3 McBride Eddy 23.4 Yellowhead Route Taverna Spicer Vavenby 45. Dunster Croyden Tete Jaune Cache 74.5 Avola Taft Malakwa Cambie Annis Sicamous Valemount Canoe River Blue River Three Valley 22. Morey 57.3 Redpass Kay Falls 8.2 Clanwilliam Kicking Horse Route Moose Lake Jackman 65.5 Fitzwilliam Pyramid 25.2 Revelstoke Begbie Albreda A L B E R T A Greeley Twin Butte Wynd 76.2 JASPER Beavermouth Rogers Grifith 98.1 Stoney Creek 15.8 Connaught Flat Creek 115. Glacier Illecillewaet Albert Canyon Redgrave Edmonton Icefields Parkway 51.2 Donald Golden Glenogle 22.4 Palliser Leanchoil Yellowhead Route Highway FIELD Ottertail Stephen Lake Louise Eldon 16.3 Castle Mountain Massive Banff 68.7 Canmore 56.1 Exshaw To Kamloops and Vancouver S U B D I V I S I O N S 1 CASCADE Vancouver to North Bend CP Rail 1 YALE Vancouver to Boston Bar CN Rail 2 THOMPSON North Bend to Kamloops CP Rail 2 ASHCROFT Boston Bar to Kamloops CN Rail 3 SHUSWAP Kamloops to Revelstoke CP Rail 4 MOUNTAIN Revelstoke to Field CP Rail 5 LAGGAN Field to Calgary CP Rail 6 CLEARWATER Kamloops to Blue River CN Rail 7 ALBREDA/ROBSON S Blue River to Jasper CN Rail 8 SQUAMISH Whistler to Lillooet CN Rail 9 LILLOOET Lillooet to Williams Lake CN Rail 1 PRINCE GEORGE Williams Lake to Prince George CN Rail 11 FRASER Prince George to McBride CN Rail 12 TETE JAUNE McBride to Taverna CN Rail Morley Cochrane Calgary VANCOUVER NORTH VANCOUVER New Westminster Fraser River Bridge U S A 13. Fort Langley 87.3 Mission Junction 87.9 Matsqui 68.1 Harrison Mills 71.8 Chilliwack 58.9 Agassiz Haig 14.5 Yale Trafalgar Hope Komo Stout C A N A D A 1 1 B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A Pacific Time Zone ONE HOUR BACK Mountain Time Zone ONE HOUR FORWARD