Rail crossings get wrong kind of recognition
Postmedia analysis finds Alberta leader in collisions last two years
It was just after 3:30 p.m. on July 21 of last year when a Canadian Pacific train travelling northbound at close to 90 kilometres per hour struck an SUV that had edged onto a rail crossing near Highway 2A north of Wetaskiwin.
The impact killed the 26-yearold motorist, later identified by family friends as mother-of-two Bree Gwynn, and left the vehicle's other occupant, her young son Austin, in serious condition in hospital.
The tragedy was the first of two fatal incidents at an Alberta rail crossing in as many days.
Almost exactly 24 hours later, a 26-year-old woman from Ponoka was killed at a crossing along Township Road 424.
The deaths were among seven fatal collisions at level, or grade, rail crossings in the province last year, the second most of any province in Canada.
A Postmedia analysis of collision data and rail-crossing inventories from the Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada shows Alberta rail crossings have been and remain disproportionately dangerous compared to the rest of Canada.
Alberta is home to 2,986 grade crossings, the fourth most in the country.
But no province had more collisions at crossings in both 2021 and 2020 than Alberta, which was also tied with Ontario and its 4,570 crossings for the most combined deaths and serious injuries last year with 14.
A similar trend emerges looking at data over a five-year period, with Alberta leading the country in the number of serious injuries at crossings and trailing only Ontario again in the number of deaths and accidents.
A crossing along 30 Street in an industrial area of Lethbridge led the country in accidents last year, though there were no fatalities or serious injuries.
The Wetaskiwin area south of Edmonton is home to another of the province's statistically more troubling crossings: a two-track span cutting through the city's 47 Avenue that has seen four incidents since 2013, including the deaths of two pedestrians and a cyclist left seriously injured.
“They're a big moving beast, and it takes a long time for them to stop,” said Wetaskiwin Mayor Tyler Gandam.
His is one of dozens of Alberta communities who, along with rail companies, other levels of government, band councils and private authorities, have grappled with the issue of crossing safety for generations.
“Since Wetaskiwin was first incorporated, we've been working in and around the rail and its crossings,” he said.
“It's definitely something that we're conscious of and making sure that our residents are safe around the crossings.”
Wetaskiwin's 47 Avenue crossing has been equipped with flashing lights, bells and gates: the most robust forms of grade-crossing safety measures available. They have been installed at 13 per cent of Alberta crossings.
More than 70 per cent of crossings, the vast majority of them in rural Alberta, are passive crossings where signs are posted but without any automated warning systems. About 15 per cent of crossings are equipped with flashing light and bells, but no gates.
In 2012, the Transportation Safety Board called for crossing safety improvements, noting “the risk of passenger trains colliding with vehicles remains too high in busy rail corridors.”
Two years later, safety standards were overhauled, new regulations created and a seven-year compliance deadline, until 2021, was established.
That time frame was later extended until Nov. 28 of this year for high priority crossings and Nov. 28 of 2024 for all other crossings.
The cross product — the result of multiplying the number of trains by the number of cars each day — is one of the key criteria in determining what level of protection and priority applies to a given crossing.
Any crossings above 2,000 are required to have flashing lights and bells. Gates must be added if the number exceeds 50,000.
More than 200,000 is the historical standard for creating an over or underpass.
Data analysis based on those standards show at least six crossings would need protection upgrades as high priority crossings; four of them are east of Edmonton in Beaver County.
Based solely on the cross-product criteria, a further 10 low priority crossings could also need to be upgraded, most of them in rural parts of the province but also in the cities of Grande Prairie and Lloydminster.
There are good reasons for crossings to be the safety focus.
Accidents at crossings represent just under 12 per cent of all rail accidents, but also 37 per cent of fatalities and 56 per cent of serious injuries.
It's a situation Transport Canada says it's committed to improving, with a spokesperson saying in an email that the new rules are necessary “to reduce the risk of serious accidents.”
The department says those responsible for the upgrades are on the clock, warning it's prepared to enforce the new rules, particularly after the extended deadline.
“Transport Canada has a comprehensive oversight program and will take appropriate action if a non-compliance or safety concern is found,” the Transport Canada spokesperson said.