GODERICH-EXETER RAILWAY CONTACTS CITY OF KITCHENER

At first blush that sounds pretty exciting having the Railroad that "...trundles slowly through Waterloo carrying hazardous cargo from the chemical works in Elmira." actually contacting the City of Kitchener to begin discussions. The problem of course is that discussions are only going to begin what...six or seven decades after the fact. Even for politicians this is somewhat slower than usual. The "chemical works" in Elmira probably refers solely to Chemtura although Sulco (Canada Colours) also haul hazardous cargo.

The next problem is this: Mayor Carl Zehr stated "I think it is critical from a public knowledge standpoint, and also a safety perspective for citizens and first responders in case there is an accident". Great but who at the Railroad has agreed to sharing this crucial information with the unwashed masses known as the public? Nobody so far. The Kitchener Fire Chief has been approached and that's it. Do you think Kitchener Council want to share a secret with the public? Not bloody likely. That's one of the perks of being a politician. You get to be in the know on matters that you know absolutely nothing about and you get to keep them secret while telling everybody that you are so important that you are in the know and they aren't.

I'll start to get excited when the people's whose backyards the trains are going by actually get to find out what's on those trains. Saturday's Waterloo Region Record has this story "Railway to share cargo details with city".