CN representatives faced council on June 25 to discuss wait times, crossing blockages, and how to keep the roads open during peak times

 

When it comes to contentious issues in Whitecourt, the train is consistently at the top of the list. Roadways are often blocked during peak hours causing a massive buildup of traffic that takes time to clear once the train has passed. Add in the risk of an emergency taking place on the other side of the congestion and it becomes a potentially life-threatening issue.

Pop “train” into the search bar of a popular local rant group and the results will go on for what seems like forever as residents let loose their frustrations of being late for work or school and feeling helpless in the process. Wait times vary between just a few minutes and up to 10 to 15 minutes. On Thursday, June 14, at the peak of morning rush hour, the wait was over 40 minutes. “We had one of our directors check on it and it was confirmed how far up Highway 43 and down Dahl Drive the traffic was backed up. Forty minutes during rush hour when people are trying to get to work isn’t acceptable,” said Mayor Chichak during the June 25 regular council meeting. The meeting was attended by CN representatives.

“We recognize that rail is vital to businesses in our community in transporting goods in and out and that CN was here long before our community was built. We built Whitecourt around the lines. We also recognize that we must work together.” She then asked about the over 40-minute wait and what had led to it. CN representatives responded that the wait was due to a malfunction in the equipment and that that type of situation is not common.

“You said the train couldn’t move due to the malfunction so what would have happened had there been an emergency and there was an ambulance on the other side of the track and the train wasn’t able to move,” questioned Mayor Chichak. CN said that in that instance they should have reached out to the CN Police who then would have reached out to local authorities to let administration and the public know about the situation. That would allow for the ambulance to go a different route. “We don’t have another route and that’s the problem. So, we’re basically fortunate that we didn’t have an emergency,” she concluded. CN said they would have done everything possible to somehow split the train even with a malfunction.

In a normal scenario when a train is blocking an intersection for regular work the protocol is that if an emergency vehicle has its lights and sirens turned on, CN will do whatever is necessary to open the crossing as fast as possible.

Based on discussions CN had with members of both council and community members the main issues being faced by residents are: increasing train lengths; trains being active in crossings during peak times in the morning, lunch, and evening; the length of time trains travel through crossings; and blocked crossings.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you we’re not going to block crossings because we are the railway industry and we do have to occupy them but what we are doing is changing some start times and assignments to eliminate the rush hour issue that you highlighted,” explained the CN representative. He also said certain industries will be serviced at different times to try and alleviate issues.

He explained that CN is restricted to a certain speed in town and long trains will take a longer time to pass through. “We’re restricted to 10 miles an hour through town, so it does take quite a bit longer when we’re travelling with 10,000 feet of train which is basically two miles.”

CN is trying to work around peak times but can’t say it won’t operate during those times. “I won’t say that. I can’t. Operationally, it doesn’t work because we have businesses that we need to support here so we’re trying to work with both sides. Whitecourt is in a bit of a unique situation in that some of your key industries that are serviced by rail are close to town and actually within the community itself.”

Mayor Chichak restated the importance of rail and that council understands that businesses rely on it. “We need to be able to work together especially with that being the CANAMEX highway. We have so much going through our community. I’m hoping you will work with us to minimize those peak times for the loading and offloading.”

CN agreed that working together is key but can’t guarantee there will never be a train moving through at rush hour and that they are exploring opportunities everywhere possible. “I do want to make it clear that we have heard your concerns about the crossings and that we will try to adapt our schedules where possible,” adding that, “two minutes can seem like two hours especially if you need to be some place.”

CN is asking residents to call its Public Inquiries Line (1-888-888-5909) next time they are stopped at a train crossing for longer than just a few minutes. By doing so, the information gets logged into their system. “We ask you the time, details, and location so we can track that to the specific crews that we’re having issues with or the specific schedules that we are having issues with and it allows us to be proactive.”

Councillor Connell said it would be nice to get updates on long waits. “Even after the highway opens I think that message is important to help build that understanding whether it’s a day or two down the line just to say, this is what happened, or this is why we were hung up for 40 minutes the other day.” CN responded that having that type of communication with the municipality is a goal going forward.

One of the recommendations made by Councillor Schlosser was to have CN return to the community and hold an open house and have conversations with residents. “A lot of times it’s all about communication and that was one of the things we were really happy to see today was the open dialogue start with CN and we are looking forward to that continuing into the future,” said Mayor Chichak.