Editor:
Re: Landslides disrupt Amtrak rail service, March 31.
It’s been several years now that I have been worried, especially about the safety of my granddaughters. Why? Because of the BNSF rail and all the dangerous goods that they bring past our doorsteps.
My biggest nightmare isn’t sci-fi, it’s Lac-Mégantic.
Last month, another real scare.
On March 29, there were at least three slides on the tracks between 3 and 6 a.m., four miles north of White Rock. Of course, all train service was stopped for some time and the Amtrak was not allowed to run until Friday.
PAN reported: “Inclement weather was to blame for a slide that sent debris and tree limbs down a 100-foot slope just after 6 a.m. that morning. It resulted in a pile five feet high and 20 feet wide, across the rail line.”
The slide detection wire was only triggered by the last 6 a.m. slide. Does this mean that if a train had run between 3 and 6 a.m., it would have hit an earlier slide that oozed under the trigger wire? Just imagine what this might have meant for White Rock and Crescent Beach.
We all know what it would mean to human life if chlorine gas tanks ruptured. What about anhydrous ammonia, hydrochloric acid, petroleum distillates, genetically modified organisms – these toxins and many others have been identified on the dangerous goods placards of BNSF trains passing the White Rock Promenade.
Human and environmental cost could be unimaginable.
Just ask the residents of Lac-Mégantic after the disaster of July 6, 2013 where 47 people lost their lives, some children sleeping “safely” in their bed. Apparently two-thirds of the residents are still dealing with PTS. Our hearts continue to go out to them.
So when some people say it is too expensive to move the train, just think of those 47 souls.
And when others say BNSF will never go for it because “what’s in it for them?” they need to see the statistics of time savings for faster rail service. And let’s face it, the train traffic is only going to get worse – especially with Trump’s push to mine more coal.
One of the biggest causes for the demise of White Rock’s beachfront is the trains. Just the other day, enjoying a patio supper beachfront, our view of boats, sailboarders and walkers was mangled by a coal freight train blasting past us – upwards of 100 cars, pulled by three locomotives and hurting my ears.
Not only that, but the pristine beauty of one of the few beaches south of the Fraser has been “vandalized” by the new appearance of ugly black fencing and rail crossing zones. Please help us!
Susan Potzold, White Rock
• • •
It seems lately there has been an influx of letters regarding the train route through Crescent Beach and White Rock.
These letters are from late-comers, because this problem has been around for many years and, going way back when, similar letters have been written with really nothing concrete happening since then.
The most important thing to remember about these loud monsters that plod through our communities is what they are carrying – actual dangers, not only to our local areas but large contributions to global warming.
B.C. is always bragging about natural B.C.. We have carbon taxes, parks, greenways and a whole bunch more that we pump up our chest about, yet we willingly let millions of tons of coal travel through our Lower Mainland to be shipped to such places as China and India. Doesn’t that make our province extremely hypocritical?
We need to protect our farmland and our global atmosphere, and all of us have to do our part. For example, the group Communities and Coal is fighting Port Metro in court on May 17 in Vancouver, regarding the building of a coal terminal at Fraser Surrey Docks, including environmental concerns and health assessments.
Get involved and talk to your political representatives telling them your concerns, and please support associations that are busy right in the middle of things. That is one way you can be part of the solution.
Brian Lauder, Surrey
