Ottawa - August 30, 2002

OmniTRAX-owned Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) and Okanagan Valley Railway (OVR), representing both a relatively large and a small short line, are achieving significant results after having volunteered to pilot Transport Canada's Safety Management Systems which came into effect on March 31, 2001.

The regulations require railway companies under federal jurisdiction to develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive safety management programs to measure and evaluate safety performance.  Railways must establish safety targets, identify responsibilities, authorities and implement audit procedures.

A recent audit has confirmed a reduction of over 20% in accidents and injuries since implementation of Transport Canada's Safety Management Systems.  "Recognizing that we still have a lot of work to do, we are pleased with the results showing the accident and injury rate going to the right direction," said Gerry Rath, Director of Safety for OmniTRAX Canada.  "We look forward to implementing additional safety and operational improvements over the next year." 

The Hudson Bay Railway is a founding member of the Association of Regional Railways of Canada (ARRC).  ARRC was created in September 2001 to promote the interests of the short line and regional railways in Canada.  Other founding members of ARRC are BC Rail, The Carlton Trail Railway, and Ferroequus Railway Company Limited.  In 2000, ARRC members produced over 5 billion revenue-ton-miles, had revenues of approximately $450 million, operated 4,067 route-kilometres of track, and employed approximately 2,000 people.

Membership in ARRC is open to all short line and regional railways in Canada (both passenger and freight).  Information on membership is available on the website at www.arrc.ca.

Contact:  Cindy Hick
               (613) 726-7111
               hick@arrc.ca

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