Students get rail safety lesson aboard train to WFCU Centre
Grade 5 and 6 students are invited to board the train of Memorial Cup excitement.
From May 23-25, about 2,350 students from three local school boards will board a Via Rail safety train at the Walker Road station to the WFCU Centre. Once on board, they will receive a lesson in rail safety.
After arriving at the WFCU Centre, students will tour the Memorial Cup displays.
“Much like how we teach our kids how to cross the road … (and) teach them how to swim, tell them about water safety, it’s very important to talk about rail safety,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
The city of Windsor is home to about 55 kilometres of rail track, and almost 11,000 homes are situated within 300 metres of a rail line, Dilkens said.
“So it’s really important that we teach our kids about rail safety and trespassing,” he said. “The Memorial Cup is really the perfect opportunity for us to do that.”
The Via Rail safety train will even have a Memorial Cup alumni in the conductor’s seat.
Fred Boimistruck, a locomotive engineer, will conduct the Via Safety train with the elementary students aboard.
Boimistruck won back-to-back Memorial Cups in 1980-81, when he played for the Cornwall Royals.
“This has been in the works for a really long time,” said John Savage, event chair. “This train — they scoured the country to pull it together.”
Organizers say the Via Rail safety train will blend important rail safety lessons with Memorial Cup excitement.
“Our hope is that this will be an overall experience that these Grade 5 and 6 students will remember forever,” said Dan Laporte, education liaison and program organizer.