A Moment with the Mayor: Railway safety

Like many other communities across Canada, our community has grown up because of being adjacent to the rail lines. The rail was essential to our early days here in Lloydminster. Today, it seems that we need to do business or travel for pleasure, and we cross back and forth across the tracks. It could be argued that if enough planning went into the growth of a community over 100 years … I will leave that discussion for another day.

I want to focus on railway safety in and around our community, as any time is railway time. We often see rail cars in transit in our city. Cars are often positioned to be emptied or filled. Once that happens, they are shuttled to be connected to other rail cars to make a complete train before it heads east, west or south, depending on the railway service. This shuttling of one or more cars means they are crossing major streets in the city’s north end throughout the day. I urge you to respect the flashing lights and signals. Railway engines are significantly larger and heavier and cannot stop as fast as a vehicle. Encountering a train will result in you losing every time.

Challenges exist as pedestrians cross the tracks regularly. Please, Look, Listen and Live! A campaign for railway safety that focuses on pedestrians and cyclists, hoping to encourage awareness of surroundings. Earbuds can be particularly challenging as they tend to cancel out all other sounds.

Why do we need Railway Safety Week - September 18-24, 2023!

• More than 2,100 people are injured or killed annual in crossing and trespassing incidents in North America.

• More than 60% of collisions occur at crossings equipmed with lights and/or gates.

• Over the past decade, more than 85 per cent of all rail-related deaths and injuries in Canada occurred as a result of motor collisions at railway crossings or trespassing on railway property.

Both rail companies take safety seriously for their teams and public. Efforts are made to continue to prioritize safety and awareness. If you see issues involving a CN train or railway crossing, please call them at 1-888-888-5909 or the CN Police at 1800-465-9239. If there are issues with the CP Railway, please contact CP Police at 1-800-716-9132.

Together, we can all Stop Track Tragedies.

Mayor Gerald S. Aalbers
City of Lloydminster

All rail crossings in Lloydminster are operated by Canadian National or Canadian Pacific, which Transport Canada regulates. Neither the Province of Alberta, the Province of Saskatchewan, nor the City of Lloydminster is responsible for regulating crossings.

To report a rail crossing concern, contact Transport Canada at 1-613-998-2985 or toll-free at 1-844-897-7245. Reports can also be made by email at railsafety@tc.gc.ca.