Editor:
Funny thing happened on my way to Crescent Beach last Thursday.
My wife and I found ourselves waiting for a train of empty coal cars headed south. At first, no big deal happens all the time.
My wife, in casual conversation, says, “Did you know there is a protest slated for May 4 to block the coal train at White Rock pier?”
She tells me the protest is based on coal being a major contributor to climate issues. I say “Oh, there’s a good chance that’s true. Don’t think I’d stand in front of a train to prove it, though.”
While waiting, I found myself getting upset, not about the coal but the length of the train. It was a very long time for Crescent Beach to be cut off from emergency services.
Friday, on my way to Semiahmoo in the U.S. to visit a friend, I saw the BN coal train stopped on the tracks waiting to go north. I stopped my car, backed up to the tail-end train and set my car’s odometer to zero.
Carefully, I drove on the side of the road, counting rail cars. To my amazement, there were 128 fully loaded coal cars. The length totalled a whopping 2.3 kilometres long.
Now, I refuse to go back to Crescent Beach to see how long it takes 2.3 km of rail cars to hold the community hostage. Please understand, there is no political agenda on my part, just asking basic questions. How long is too long for a community to be completely cut off from help? Did we really agree to those unreasonably long trains in a residential neighbourhood? Are there not regulations or laws or something that is being stretched?
Maybe we should all block the train in protest of the trains, based on both long-term and immediate- term life preservation.
Paul Olson, Surrey
