Railway Safety Week runs from 2 to 8 May 2011.

27 April 2011

Family Shares Story of Boys' Death to Prevent Others

Airdrie Alberta - On 25 Jun 2001, the community was devastated when a local teenager was killed after being hit by a train downtown.
 
Thirteen-year-old Andrew West was walking northbound along the Canadian Pacific tracks from St. Martin De Porres Junior/Senior High School to Shell to meet his friends for a slushy after his final exam. He was looking forward to his birthday in 11 days, camping in the summer and getting his learner's licence. He was wearing his headphones and listening to his favourite music full blast.
 
"His walkman was the only thing I got back in one piece," said West's mom Roxane.
 
"I was devastated. He was my life, my baby. He had his whole life ahead of him."
 
Ever since, Roxane and her mother Betty Melik have made it their mission to educate children and adults about railway safety.
 
"The tracks are glorified by movies," said Roxane.
 
"They are seen as romantic and people even get their wedding photos taken on them. People don't understand the dangers. A locomotive weighs 100 tons and it takes up to two kilometres for a train to stop. The tracks were here first and we need to respect the trains."
 
Following the incident, Roxane petitioned City council to build fences around railway tracks and create a pathway that would allow people to get from one side of Airdrie to the other without ever having to set foot on the tracks.
 
"If my son had the choice of walking on the tracks or a pathway, he would have picked a pathway," she said.
 
"I have worked with the Parks Department in Airdrie and they have been great. We still don't have a pathway all the way to the other side of town but it is a good start from Big Hill Springs to Highway 567 and we hope to continue working with them to complete it."
 
Melik is a volunteer with Operation Life Saver and teaches children in local schools about how to be safe on the railway. She has been visiting Airdrie and Crossfield children in preparation for Railway Safety Week, 2-8 May 2011.
 
"I teach them what the arms are, and what the bells mean at crossings, but it is sometimes surprising how little they know," she said, adding she works with Citizens on Patrol and the RCMP for the presentations.
 
"Some kids say they go for walks down the track with their parents. We need them to understand the fact that they need to stay off the tracks no matter what. If we can save one person, we did our job."
 
Operation Lifesaver is made up of dedicated railroaders and citizens, aiming to save lives by educating Canadians about the hazards surrounding rail property and trains.
 
Operation Lifesaver is a partnership initiative of the Railway Association of Canada and Transport Canada and works in cooperation with the rail industry, government, police, unions, and many public organizations and community groups.
 
According to Operation Lifesaver, every year in Canada, about 300 collisions and trespassing incidents occur at highway/railway crossings and along railway tracks resulting in the death or serious injury of nearly 130 people.
 
Roxane said it takes about 20 seconds for a train to meet a crossing after the bells and lights are activated. Modern trains are quieter than ever with padded tracks to eliminate noise. That's why wearing headphones and listening to music when around tracks is especially dangerous, she added.
 
"It's been 10 years and it is still very hard," said Roxane.
 
"They say it gets easier over time but it doesn't. You always love your kids. He just went to school and never came home and I don't want that to ever happen for any other parent."
 
Melik agreed, saying "the pain and devastation never goes away."
 
"It's just devastating, there is no other word for losing your grandson like that. Losing a child in any way, shape, or form, is devastating."
 
Stacie Snow.