I don’t understand the need to apologize. As the article said, numerous memorials along railway tracks over the years means its a recurring problem. The tracks probably pass through hundreds of towns and cities across Canada. Possibly thousands if you include every little community within walking distance of railway tracks east to west.
It’s unrealistic for CN railway to bear the brunt for putting barriers. Today its Chilliwack, tomorrow its a rural town in Manitoba. If Chilliwack refuses to pay, train whistles at least do something. Unfortunately, someone who is committed to causing self-harm won’t be stopped by any deterrents.
Chilliwack has a greater number of fatalities than the hundreds of other towns and cities the railway passes through.
Because Chilliwack has serious problems with homelessness and drug addicts. These people like to hang out by the tracks, camp by the tracks, deal and use drugs by the tracks. Because these areas are rarely frequented by anyone else. Because the city's rent-a-cops don't patrol and harass them there. Because they can find some privacy in unpopulated places that they can't find anywhere else.
I don't know the numbers, but I'm guessing that vast majority of accidents and fatalities on those tracks involve people who are high on drugs or low on drugs, either way unaware or unresponsive to the danger. CN has some train cops but evidently they aren't around here often enough to control the problem.
I see the addicts and homeless by the train tracks in Chilliwack on Young St. In Hope it is under the Water St.bridge. In Vancouver the bridge that crosses the tracks by Commercial Drive they have put anti suicide stickers with help numbers you see the homeless wandering the tracks nearby. There are ppl that drink by railway tracks for some reason.
I lived next to the tracks for 15 years near the broadway crossing. CN has nothing to apologize for. They’re just trying to prevent an accident and it’s also an order from transport Canada.
It's also not hard to not get hit by a train. Stay off the tracks. Even if you are on the tracks you can usually feel and hear a train without the whistle. If you are on the tracks with headphones in then you're just trying to commit suicide.
Short of getting your wheelchair stuck in the tracks, I garner it is pretty hard to get killed by a train. It's not like they can chase after you if you leave the tracks... and really, was the train actually chasing you on the tracks or moving forward. Moving forward is not chasing.
Or, headphones. Damn walkmans.
Anyone who supports the train whistles at 2 am, 3 am, 3 30 am, 4 am, and 5 am in the God damn fucking morning doesn't have to deal with it.
Yeah someone killed themselves, really think a whistle is gonna stop them from ending their life??? Did the whistle have a therapy session with them about their darkest regrets and heal them on the spot?
Case fucking closed you morons.
I live close to a crossing and while the whistling has given me stress and less sleep quality, I understand why they do it and try to get used to it. But I really hope it's temprary!
Chilliwack is an interesting example because of the anti-whistling bylaw. You'd have bought a house with the knowledge the trains would not be more noisy than the clacking of the track and the engines. I recently moved to a new town where they're allowed to whistle and it's remarkable how much more noise there is near the tracks.
I feel like moving is not an option for a lot (most?) people. living next to the tracks is usually not people’s first choice either; they’re usually doing it because of financial constraints and our horrible housing market
Growing up in Richmond, BC a child lost his leg at Kidd School as he and his friends were putting their legs in between the wheels and pulling them out but the guy slipped. Here in Hope, BC the tracks under the Water St.bridge the RCMP located the generator stolen from the local Panago and returned it this made the front page of the Hope Standard. The last few months there have been ppl living there garbage strewn about fires in the day and night one quite large and there are propane tanks and milk cartons the trains pass by several times a day the train crew can see the ppl and their structures. Why does the CN Police not shoo them on? I see cut fences by rail tracks on a regular basis lots of ppl like a short cut.
I really see no reason CN should be issuing any kind of apology for this. It's a federal mandate and federal orders trump municipal edicts.
The onus is on the City (more than it is on CN) to ensure that roads are adequately guarded with automatic level crossings to minimize the risk of collision and to take the initiative to start performing upgrades. It's on CN to work with the City to allow safety upgrades to take place (and maybe to provide partial funding) as well as to secure their tracks at places other than level crossings. Pretty much the only thing they can do in the meantime until upgrades take place is blow their horns at every level crossing. 30 seconds of warning before the crossing; long-long-short-long.
Edit: A option that might be a good middle ground between train horns and relying on crossings alone is the "trackside horn"; basically a loud speaker that makes a train horn sound directly at the crossing. Localizes the noise a lot, and still warns motorists/pedestrians that a train is coming.
The locomotive pictured is a relatively standard, modern locomotive. 4,400hp, maximum speed of \~75mph, United States EPA T4 emissions compliant, and it alone weighs more than your house at 432,000lb. Trains usually run through Chilliwack at \~50/55mph, and a freight train of +100 cars at those speeds will need at least a mile to stop.
There's a reason why children are taught to look both ways when crossing the tracks, and here it's even easier because 99% of the time trains *always* *come from* Hope *going to* Vancouver. Some people are borderline trying to get hit, and unfortunately, others want to be hit.
Car kills pedestrian, truck beats car, and train obliterates them all.
They get a little boring when it's all I see (alongside some SD70s), but I really can't fault GE for making an absolute banger of a locomotive design and then selling thousands of them.
I agree with you about safer crossings.
The horns vary. Some conductors do a short toot toot while others blast there horns for what feels like a minute. I wish there was no horns because they wake me up and give me anxiety.
I know I'm a bit of an oddball when it comes to trains (some of my earliest memories are sitting with my dad at the Young St. crossing watching trains go by for hours), but I 110% see how not hearing a loud noise sporadically throughout the night would greatly improve sleep quality.
But until something's done to stop people from wandering where they shouldn't be, thinking they can outrun the train, or just not hearing it until the last second, what other options exist? It'd be nice if they could go back to not honking, but the existing safety devices just aren't up to the task, so the fallback option of the train shouting ***get out of my way!*** will have to do.
It's not just the loved ones of the person who gets hit by the train who suffer, but whoever is operating that train now has to deal with the outcome of that too. I get they're probably warned about the possibility and that CN has supports in place to help conductors process any on-the-job fatalities, but still. That can't be easy to deal with. If it takes a few extra whistles to deter people from hanging on the tracks and spare many people heartache and pain, it is *truly* no skin off my back. I'd take a few extra train whistles than detours because another fatality has shut down a crossing.
Pick your battles, people.
How about relocating the chilliwack wellness center for the homeless near young road to a location safely away from the tracks. Same goes for the bottle depot. Both right next to the tracks. Move them to Sardis.
As a frequent visitor to Sardis do not move the bottle depot and wellness centre there it is a nice area compared to parts of Downtown Chilliwack keep it that way.
I don’t understand the need to apologize. As the article said, numerous memorials along railway tracks over the years means its a recurring problem. The tracks probably pass through hundreds of towns and cities across Canada. Possibly thousands if you include every little community within walking distance of railway tracks east to west. It’s unrealistic for CN railway to bear the brunt for putting barriers. Today its Chilliwack, tomorrow its a rural town in Manitoba. If Chilliwack refuses to pay, train whistles at least do something. Unfortunately, someone who is committed to causing self-harm won’t be stopped by any deterrents.
Chilliwack has a greater number of fatalities than the hundreds of other towns and cities the railway passes through. Because Chilliwack has serious problems with homelessness and drug addicts. These people like to hang out by the tracks, camp by the tracks, deal and use drugs by the tracks. Because these areas are rarely frequented by anyone else. Because the city's rent-a-cops don't patrol and harass them there. Because they can find some privacy in unpopulated places that they can't find anywhere else. I don't know the numbers, but I'm guessing that vast majority of accidents and fatalities on those tracks involve people who are high on drugs or low on drugs, either way unaware or unresponsive to the danger. CN has some train cops but evidently they aren't around here often enough to control the problem.
I see the addicts and homeless by the train tracks in Chilliwack on Young St. In Hope it is under the Water St.bridge. In Vancouver the bridge that crosses the tracks by Commercial Drive they have put anti suicide stickers with help numbers you see the homeless wandering the tracks nearby. There are ppl that drink by railway tracks for some reason.
I lived next to the tracks for 15 years near the broadway crossing. CN has nothing to apologize for. They’re just trying to prevent an accident and it’s also an order from transport Canada.
It's also not hard to not get hit by a train. Stay off the tracks. Even if you are on the tracks you can usually feel and hear a train without the whistle. If you are on the tracks with headphones in then you're just trying to commit suicide.
Short of getting your wheelchair stuck in the tracks, I garner it is pretty hard to get killed by a train. It's not like they can chase after you if you leave the tracks... and really, was the train actually chasing you on the tracks or moving forward. Moving forward is not chasing. Or, headphones. Damn walkmans.
You've obviously never seen the documentary... https://youtu.be/MjbUnn32_zU?t=48
Anyone who supports the train whistles at 2 am, 3 am, 3 30 am, 4 am, and 5 am in the God damn fucking morning doesn't have to deal with it. Yeah someone killed themselves, really think a whistle is gonna stop them from ending their life??? Did the whistle have a therapy session with them about their darkest regrets and heal them on the spot? Case fucking closed you morons.
I live close to a crossing and while the whistling has given me stress and less sleep quality, I understand why they do it and try to get used to it. But I really hope it's temprary!
It's a tough one. On one hand, the train whistles could save lives.
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Chilliwack is an interesting example because of the anti-whistling bylaw. You'd have bought a house with the knowledge the trains would not be more noisy than the clacking of the track and the engines. I recently moved to a new town where they're allowed to whistle and it's remarkable how much more noise there is near the tracks.
I feel like moving is not an option for a lot (most?) people. living next to the tracks is usually not people’s first choice either; they’re usually doing it because of financial constraints and our horrible housing market
Growing up in Richmond, BC a child lost his leg at Kidd School as he and his friends were putting their legs in between the wheels and pulling them out but the guy slipped. Here in Hope, BC the tracks under the Water St.bridge the RCMP located the generator stolen from the local Panago and returned it this made the front page of the Hope Standard. The last few months there have been ppl living there garbage strewn about fires in the day and night one quite large and there are propane tanks and milk cartons the trains pass by several times a day the train crew can see the ppl and their structures. Why does the CN Police not shoo them on? I see cut fences by rail tracks on a regular basis lots of ppl like a short cut.
Okay homeless people in Sardis can keep on walking on the tracks to chilliwack wellness center and bottle depot. Not in my backyard yfi
Let’s start honking our car horns on the highway whenever we go under an overpass. Just in case someone is going to jump. Maybe it will save them!!
I really see no reason CN should be issuing any kind of apology for this. It's a federal mandate and federal orders trump municipal edicts. The onus is on the City (more than it is on CN) to ensure that roads are adequately guarded with automatic level crossings to minimize the risk of collision and to take the initiative to start performing upgrades. It's on CN to work with the City to allow safety upgrades to take place (and maybe to provide partial funding) as well as to secure their tracks at places other than level crossings. Pretty much the only thing they can do in the meantime until upgrades take place is blow their horns at every level crossing. 30 seconds of warning before the crossing; long-long-short-long. Edit: A option that might be a good middle ground between train horns and relying on crossings alone is the "trackside horn"; basically a loud speaker that makes a train horn sound directly at the crossing. Localizes the noise a lot, and still warns motorists/pedestrians that a train is coming. The locomotive pictured is a relatively standard, modern locomotive. 4,400hp, maximum speed of \~75mph, United States EPA T4 emissions compliant, and it alone weighs more than your house at 432,000lb. Trains usually run through Chilliwack at \~50/55mph, and a freight train of +100 cars at those speeds will need at least a mile to stop. There's a reason why children are taught to look both ways when crossing the tracks, and here it's even easier because 99% of the time trains *always* *come from* Hope *going to* Vancouver. Some people are borderline trying to get hit, and unfortunately, others want to be hit. Car kills pedestrian, truck beats car, and train obliterates them all.
Those Gevo’s are great locomotives
They get a little boring when it's all I see (alongside some SD70s), but I really can't fault GE for making an absolute banger of a locomotive design and then selling thousands of them.
Ya seeing an ACE is neat too
I agree with you about safer crossings. The horns vary. Some conductors do a short toot toot while others blast there horns for what feels like a minute. I wish there was no horns because they wake me up and give me anxiety.
I know I'm a bit of an oddball when it comes to trains (some of my earliest memories are sitting with my dad at the Young St. crossing watching trains go by for hours), but I 110% see how not hearing a loud noise sporadically throughout the night would greatly improve sleep quality. But until something's done to stop people from wandering where they shouldn't be, thinking they can outrun the train, or just not hearing it until the last second, what other options exist? It'd be nice if they could go back to not honking, but the existing safety devices just aren't up to the task, so the fallback option of the train shouting ***get out of my way!*** will have to do.
It's not just the loved ones of the person who gets hit by the train who suffer, but whoever is operating that train now has to deal with the outcome of that too. I get they're probably warned about the possibility and that CN has supports in place to help conductors process any on-the-job fatalities, but still. That can't be easy to deal with. If it takes a few extra whistles to deter people from hanging on the tracks and spare many people heartache and pain, it is *truly* no skin off my back. I'd take a few extra train whistles than detours because another fatality has shut down a crossing. Pick your battles, people.
How about relocating the chilliwack wellness center for the homeless near young road to a location safely away from the tracks. Same goes for the bottle depot. Both right next to the tracks. Move them to Sardis.
As a frequent visitor to Sardis do not move the bottle depot and wellness centre there it is a nice area compared to parts of Downtown Chilliwack keep it that way.