Heres what Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway told The Gazette on Sept.

10, 2012 about the electrification of Montreal commuter trains. AMT = Agence mtropolitaine de transport, the provincial operator of Montreal commuter trains.

Ed Greenberg, spokesperson, Canadian Pacific Railway Our railway appreciated AMT's proposal, but at the end of the day, the proposal would have required significant changes to our line, including ensuring the wire could clear our freight trains, such as trains moving double-stack containers. An ultra-high wire on our line would have also required the raising of overhead structures, such as road overpasses. In addition, the electrification would impact our track maintenance protocols and procedures, which are priorities in our company's ongoing commitment to safe train operations.

Louis-Antoine Paquin, spokesperson, Canadian National Railway In response to the article Le train lectrique sur une voie d'vitement published in La Presse on Monday, it is of great importance for CN to clarify the facts. At AMTs request, CN performed an analysis of the feasibility of electrifying AMTs commuter rail service on CN lines in the Montreal area. The analysis confirmed that there are significant technical obstacles to such a program, which have been shared with the AMT. These include safety, engineering, and operational obstacles, in particular the following: the requirements of vertical and horizontal clearances; the impossibility of operating freight trains beneath energized high voltage lines without impacting the fluidity of local traffic and, ultimately, of CNs entire network; the complexity of accommodating high voltage lines on Victoria Bridge; the incompatibility of CNs signals and communication system with high voltage lines.

CN advised AMT over a year ago that it could not entertain this project. Since then, CN has further considered the impact of AMTs project on its operations and determined that the two operations could not realistically co-exist and advised AMT accordingly. CN has cooperated with AMT since the onset. Given the potentially significant impact a strategic portion of CNs network in eastern Canada and the serious safety concerns raised by the project, CNs response to AMT was both complete and responsible.