Train overpass not best option at $25M-plus

A study aiming to ease the pain of traffic delays caused by trains moving through Niagara Falls continues to wind its way to a conclusion.

“How long have we been talking about this?” Coun. Wayne Thomson asked at city hall Tuesday night.

“Since before I was born,” answered Coun. Vince Kerrio, who was filling in as acting mayor.

Trains cross Niagara Falls roads at 14 locations, including major routes such as Stanley Avenue, Morrison Street and Thorold Stone Road. The study, launched in April, has revealed there are up to four major daily train movements causing delays of 30 to 35 minutes.

Close to 10,000 vehicles cross the rail line during peak hours of 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and of the stakeholders who responded, 63 per cent say they’ve sat through delays of 20 minutes. Half the people consulted in public meetings report being delayed at least once a day, and about half say they usually give up and find a new route after 15 minutes.

Adding to drivers’ frustration, the study found that between 2015 and 2018 there were 21 CN train breakdowns that “resulted in road blockages of up to two hours, 11 of these occurred during weekday peak periods.”

Options being looked at in the study include working with CN to have the trains rerouted to tracks away from the city, or using grade separation — building overpasses — to separate vehicle and train traffic.

“There are implications and impacts that come with each of these options,” said Neil Ahmed, an engineer from WSP Canada Group, which is studying the issue for the city.

The biggest impact, on city residents at least, would be the expense of constructing grade separations. The study shows the cost to build even one would be between $25 million and $60 million and take five or six years to plan, design and build.

“I think the numbers you put here are very alarming,” said Coun. Carolynn Ioannoni.

She noted the cost was in the $14million range when it was looked at about 12 years ago, but was not acted on after residents living near the Morrison Street site spoke against the impact it would have on their neighbourhoods.

“I really do think we missed the boat there,” she said.

As well as the possibility of building grade separations, three potential plans are being looked at to reroute train traffic away from the city.

The one Ahmed said is most promising would see trains that currently run from Hamilton through Grimsby, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls to the border at Fort Erie instead use existing tracks and pass through

Smithville and Welland before linking up with a line south of Niagara Falls for the trip toward Fort Erie.

Ahmed said while many businesses in the city rely on rail services for shipping, the fact is firefighters, for example, have to plan their responses based on which stations can react to certain calls during train delays.

A full analysis of costs and benefits is still being worked on, and discussions are continuing with the railways that would be affected. The study is expected to be complete sometime this summer.

Ioannoni said based on what she has heard at conferences and meetings, she is leery about CN’s ability to reroute its trains.

“I would hate to think we are putting all of our apples in one basket and hoping CN will reroute,” she said.