20 October 2005
Collisions Can be Devastating for Train Crews
Morley - Life on the rails is one filled with the possibility of death and danger around
every corner, as was illustrated last week, when a 23-year-old Morley man was killed when his vehicle was struck by a
CP freight train.
Collisions with vehicles is one of the hazards of the workplace that railway crews face all the time, and is never far from their minds.
Mark Bretherton is a Cochrane resident who has been working as a conductor/engineer for CP Rail for the past eight years, and although
he hasn't yet been directly involved in a fatal collision, he does fear the likelihood.
"There's a really good chance that over the course of my career I will face an incident such as this," Bretherton says.
It's not a huge leap to think so, considering what he has already faced. "I've never smashed into anybody, but I have had lots
of near-misses, hundreds of near-misses," he said.
In fact, when he used to run between Red Deer and Edmonton, he had an incident that left him very shaken.
"It was at night, and there was something on the rails, I didn't realize until the last second that it was a kid's bike - a
tricycle," he said. Not only that, but he didn't know whether there had been a child on the bike or not.
"I had to stop the train and walk back with a flashlight, and you're looking for body parts," he recollects. "You're
trembling, and it is not a very nice feeling."
In the end, the bike was mangled, but there were no human victims. "It was just a tricycle that had been dumped on the line, but
I had my heart in my mouth the rest of that trip."
He said anytime a train collides with a vehicle, it is hard for the crew to deal with, especially when it involves a fatality.
"I have a friend who hit a guy in Crossfield years ago, and even to this day he can't drive a train again, he has to be in the
office, because he just can't face going out there again."The emotional toll can be immense." And, the fear of hitting
someone is only surpassed by the horror of actually having it happen.
"It is absolute carnage," he said. "It's the conductor who has to deal with the emotional trauma the most, they have to
get off the train and go back and try to render first aid. And, that is only one of the factors to fear when you work on the railroad.
He said there is always the risk of derailment, especially due to tracks being washed out by floods or heavy rains. He says working
for CP is comforting because of their commitment to providing the maximum safety possible, not only in the communities they run
through, but to their crews as well. When train crews are involved in a traumatic incident, the company now offers mandatory
counselling to help the employee get through the trauma.
Ultimately, Bretherton says people need to understand and respect the dangers associated with rail lines. He advises caution around
rail lines, to always look both ways before crossing, and to never take safety for granted.
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