26 July 2006
Train Slows Emergency Response Several Crossings Blocked on Saturday Afternoon
Langley British Columbia - A curious incident happened in
Langley Saturday afternoon.
It was curious because it was fairly fleeting, and information about it has been hard to come by.
The issue of trains delaying emergency vehicles has come up in Langley on a number of occasions. In fact, one of the main reasons the
new 204 Street overpass is being built (for what seems to be a huge pile of money) is to allow emergency vehicles from Langley City to
access calls on both sides of the tracks without delay.
On Saturday, a container train was stopped on the tracks near Milner. I saw it from a distance, as I was travelling south on Willowbrook
Connector near Costco.
Just before that, I had seen a Langley Township fire vehicle from the Willoughby hall go down 72 Avenue towards the tracks, with its
siren going. I assumed, after seeing the stopped train, that there had been a crossing accident and contacted our photographer, Rob
Newell.
He went by the tracks as soon as he could, but there was no accident and no train. All he did see was a railway employee repairing one
of the crossing arms at Crush Crescent. These are frequently damaged by passing vehicles.
On Monday, I heard from a local farmer that he'd been stuck waiting for the train to clear Worrell Crescent for almost 13 minutes.
Either before or during that time, a fire alarm had gone off at Westgen, the big artificial insemination facility on Worrell.
The train, which stopped for a short time and then passed by very slowly, kept fire department crews from responding to the alarm.
Assistant fire chief Len Foss confirmed that the department received a call to Westgen, in what turned out to be a false alarm. He said
the fire vehicles were stopped at the crossing for about five and one-half minutes.
The one-half minute may be crucial. Under Transport Canada regulations, standing trains are allowed to block crossings for
no longer than five minutes. While this limit is occasionally exceeded, train crews are very conscious of this number.
CPR confirms that the crossing gate was being repaired, and apparently that's why the train initially stopped. I've seen a photo of the
damaged crosing gate, which show it leaning in towards the track.
Both railways say that emergency vehicles will not be blocked for long periods of time. First responders (fire, police and ambulance)
can contact the railways at any time and have a crossing cleared for emergency vehicles. Naturally, there is a delay involved - a
control centre is contacted, it contacts the crew, who then move the train or "cut" it (split it into two or more parts).
This whole exercise would probably take anywhere from five to 10 miunutes.
Foss told me that, in case of a fire or other emergency, his department has an alternate route to Worrell Crescent (a dead end road)
available to them - over farmer's fields. I certainly hope there isn't a fire there during the wet season, when the crossing's
blocked.
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