The RM of Piney has seen a dramatic improvement in their relationship with CN since they went public with their frustrations late last month.

Chief Administrative Officer Martin Van Osch says his municipality has had qualms with the railway company for years because of their poor track maintenance, their failure to clean up after themselves, and their tendency to damage local roadways. Though Piney had reached out to CN with these concerns multiple times in the past, he says communication between the two entities was virtually non-existent… until now. According to Van Osch, shortly after Steinbach Online broke the initial story, the situation began to change.

f uncharacteristic thoughtfulness.

In order to complete some crossing work in the Sandilands, CN was required to close the single access point in and out of a certain residential area. Where ordinarily the work may have gone on without a warning, Van Osch says the supervisor notified the RM and “personally took the time to knock on the doors of each affected home to inform the owners.”

Just last week, he adds, CN crews went out of their way to restore a fairly new layer of asphalt that they had roughed up during a recent project.

“It seems like a significant 180-degree turnaround in their efforts to improve and repair the damage that they do.”

Van Osch says the story’s release has prompted other nearby municipalities to come forward with similar issues of their own. He hopes the advances Piney is seeing in their relationship with CN will be mirrored across the southeast corner of the province. After years of working towards a healthy correspondence with the railway giant, Van Osch believes they are finally on the right track.