Opponents say tiny emergency signs add to CNs already rocky road
(The following story by Robert Channick appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on September 15, 2010.)
When Canadian National Railway posted emergency contact information at more than 100 grade crossings this summer, it was a seemingly small requirement in its $300 million acquisition of the EJ&E freight line perhaps a little too small.
Concerned that the license plate-size signs posted near the tracks are not readable by motorists, suburban officials along the route see it as another indication that the Montreal-based railroad is not operating in good faith.
"It doesnt really serve any purpose if people cant see the sign, and the only way you could get the information off of it is stop, park and walk up to it," said Karen Darch, president of Barrington and co-chair of a group of suburbs opposed to the purchase.
The blue and white signs include contact information and a locator ID to call the railroad in the event of accidents or malfunctions. Required to be "prominent," the notices are mounted on the trackside crossbucks, signs fashioned in the shape of X.
