A CP Rail spokesperson in Calgary has made an initial response to a Castlegar News question about the possible changing of local train schedules. The media relations person could not say, as of September 18, whether it was true that rail traffic would occur at night as some worried local residents suspect. She explained that if it does it will simply be a result of providing better service to its customers.
A recent rumour of a move to evening rail traffic has been unsettling to a number of South Castlegar residents. The CP Rail communications person indicated she’d find out more and be in further contact, but what she had to say up front would not please some people living near the tracks.
“All of our rail traffic is based around the needs of our customers,” she said. “We operate 24/7, every day of the year. If people have seen trains solely during the day, our hours of operation can change at any time.”
Information gleaned from the CP Rail’s website (cpr.ca) reinforces the autonomy of the railroad.
“As we say in the railway, any time is train time,” it reads in part on a tab titled ‘Living near the railway.’
“Freight trains do not run on a set schedule like passenger trains do. We pride ourselves on being available at all times for our customers so when their demands change, we change with them.”
The further information mentioned earlier by the media relations person was indeed provided on September 19 – in an email from colleague Salem Woodrow who related:
“CP has made an operational change in the Castlegar area that now sees our switching operations take place at night. We made this change to improve efficiency for our customers.
“People with questions or concerns can contact CP Community Connect line at 1 (800) 766-7912 or community_connect@cpr.ca.”