16 February 2005
Mayor Not Expecting Push
for Regular Sounding of Train Whistles
Canmore - Mayor Ron
Casey doesn't expect Canmore council will be calling for a review of Canmore's
whistle-less railway crossings in response to the death of an 84-year-old
Canmore man in a car-train collision last week on the southeast rail crossing of Railway
Avenue.
Andy Chakowski died after his four-door Honda car collided with a westbound freight train
at about 10:25 a.m. last Wednesday.
"I'm not sure a (early) whistle would have made a difference," Casey said, adding he hasn't
heard from members of the public calling for a reinstatement of regular train whistles at Canmore's
two main crossings.
The town was behind lobbying to silence routine whistles years ago, Casey noted.
CPR spokesman Ed Greenberg said the federal government hasn't indicated safety measures at the
crossing will be reviewed in the wake of last week's tragedy.
"There's no indication from the federal government on whether the crossing is going to be
reviewed or not," Greenberg said Tuesday.
"We view train whistles as an important safety device for our crews, but if a whistle cessation
is in place, then we will follow the wishes of the local community," he said.
"Last Wednesday's tragic incident is just a very unfortunate reminder for all of us that crossing
safety is a community issue that everybody's responsibility and we all have a stake in the
issue," Greenberg said.
The crash occurred when Chakowski was heading southeast on Railway Avenue, away from Canmore's
downtown core.
He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
His vehicle came to rest on the northwest side of the crossing, behind the nearby Canmore Gateway
Shoppes strip mall on Bow Valley Trail.
Canmore RCMP Const. Maria Thomas said last week police want to hear from anyone who witnessed the
collision.
"There was a witness who saw the vehicle sliding," Thomas said last Wednesday.
Calgarian Cathy Martin was waiting to turn left from Bow Valley Trail onto Railway Avenue when she
heard the impact of the crash.
"I didn't even see where the car was before it was hit. I heard the impact and I turned and I
saw the car kind of skidding, spinning into the ditch," Martin said.
"The crossing arm was down and it was flashing and everything. I'm sure I could hear it
dinging," said Martin. She said she didn't recall hearing the train whistle sound before the
crash.
Ed Greenberg said the crossing, which is equipped with crossing arms, flashing lights and bells, was
functioning properly at the time of the incident.
The train crew tried to halt the mixed-freight train before the crash occurred, Greenberg
said.
"They did put the train into an emergency stop to try to avoid a collision," he said.
"The whistle did sound."
The speed limit on the section of track where the tragedy occurred is 45 miles per hour and the
70-car train with two engines was going below that speed, Greenberg said. The engines
came to rest several hundred feet northwest of the point of impact. Traffic started to move again on
the line at about 1:15 p.m.
The crash victim didn't die instantly, said Happy Gill, owner of nearby Solo Liquor.
Gill was one of the people who rushed to the car after the crash occurred.
"I was the first person to get over there," said Gill, adding he took a blanket over to the
victim to try to keep him warm.
There haven't been any fatalities in recent memory involving trains and automobiles in Canmore, but a
pedestrian was killed less than a kilometre away from last Wednesday's crash site about seven months
ago.
Robin Blair Chiniquay, 37, died when he was struck by a train travelling westbound while Chiniquay was
walking east on the tracks.
The town has identified locations for potential marked pedestrian crossings to improve safety for
people who now illegally cross the tracks between the two signalized crossings on Railway
Avenue.
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