Traffic on Adelaide Street north of the Canadian Pacific grade crossing.

7 November 2011

Trackside Troubles

London Ontario - They tow a heavy load in London's economy, but the many freight trains that snake through the city also cause frequent grief for motorists at level crossings often blocked by trains.
 
They are loopholes you can drive trains through.
 
Freight trains that stretch for kilometres can take as long as they need to pass through key entrances to London's downtown, provided they keep moving, even at a snail's pace.
 
Only if a train stops entirely for five straight minutes, and trains aren't in the business of stopping, does it violate a Transport Canada regulation governing trains at level crossings.
 
As for shunting back and forth to pick up and drop off train cars, in the rail yards, that's allowed too, so long as once every five minutes, the train pulls clear of the tracks long enough to let a few vehicles through.
 
So, while the railways have said they'd try to minimize disruption, don't tell that to drivers and pedestrians counting away the minutes.
 
London city Coun. Joni Baechler heard their anger firsthand several weeks ago while waiting six or seven minutes during afternoon rush hour for a CP Rail train to cross Adelaide St.
 
While waiting, Baechler tweeted about the delay and was soon flooded with so many replies, she had to purge her email so her system wasn't clogged down.
 
"I got lots of responses," she said.
 
With upwards of 20 of its trains a day operating through London, the five-minute rule isn't perfect, said CP spokesperson Mike LoVecchio "We do work to keep the crossings clear. We are very aware of the issue," he said.
 
"We'll continue to work closely with the city to co-ordinate with them and monitor our operation and make adjustments as needed."
 
The main rail hub for Southwestern Ontario, located in a region that links Canada to the U.S. midwest, the London area depends on the rail system to get all kinds of goods made in the area to market, everything from automobiles, to military equipment, and petro-chemicals.
 
But if you're late for an appointment, or held up at a crossing trying to get to work, it's the delays the trains cause, not the heavy economic muscle they tow, that crosses your mind.
 
Still, while there's a fuming anger about the rail lines that straddle the city's core, regulators at Transport Canada aren't getting complaints, and Baechler thinks she knows why.
 
At Adelaide, there's a single, faded sign letting motorists know whom to phone with a complaint at CP Rail. But the phone number, 1-800-766-7912, is so faded and small, it's illegible to anyone not walking right up to it, a sign that's all but invisible to the motorists who must wait.
 
Baechler has asked city staff to put up new, larger signs at multiple locations approaching each crossing and is encouraging others to phone or email their complaints to Transport Canada.
 
Transport Canada is not responsible for safety sign posting, railway operators are, said a Transport Canada spokesperson.
 
Baechler is also laying the groundwork for council to consider building an overpass at Adelaide.
 
London taxpayers don't want to be stuck with the entire tab of an overpass, the city's only recent overpass, a raised traffic roundabout at Hale and Trafalgar streets, cost about $13 million, split unevenly among the city, federal and Ontario governments, and CN Rail.
 
Baechler wants developers to pick up their share, too, since some of the traffic is the product of new homes in north London. To do that, the costs of an Adelaide overpass would have to be part of a study the city commissions every five years to set the development charge, the fee for each new building permit issued.
 
"Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay the full freight," Baechler said.
 
Londoners are already paying, in many ways, for the delays at level crossings that are more numerous here than in Toronto.
 
Vehicles here were waiting more than 440,000 hours a year when The Free Press ran a comprehensive analysis of the delays in 2003.
 
Even then, the estimated hit to the local economy was sizeable:  $7 million a year. What that hit might be worth now, isn't clear.
 
Paramedics and firefighters are slowed down by the delays in responding to emergencies, especially in north London, where the only overpass remotely near the core is at Quebec St. and the only underpass is under-sized at Talbot. St.
 
The city engineer has held talks with railways to see there might be partnerships to build overpasses. but consider the track record of such collaborations:  In the past 42 years, the only overpass built in London, besides Hale-Trafalgar, was at Wonderland Rd. N.
 
THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE
 
Under a Transport Canada regulation, trains at level crossings can not stop entirely for more than five minutes.
 
As long a train keeps moving, even at a snail's pace, there's no limit to how long it can effectively block a crossing.
 
Shunting back and forth across a level crossing is permitted as long as the shunting train clears the crossing at least once every five minutes to allow some vehicles to pass.
 
If you spot violations, you can file a complaint with Transport Canada by calling 416-973-5540 or emailing OPS-EXPOntario@tc.gc.ca
 
RAILWAY BLUES
 
The CP tracks at Adelaide St. N.:  Major commuter corridor is just next to the CP rail yard and is blocked by slowed and shunting trains.
 
The CP tracks at Richmond, Colborne, Waterloo, William, and Maitland streets:  No shortcuts when Adelaide is blocked, since all adjacent streets are almost as bad, including Richmond, a major commercial and retail hub.
 
The CN tracks at Clarke Rd.:  Far from the core, but still a well-used route.
 
The CN tracks at Egerton and Rectory streets:  Frequent trains, since this is next to the CN yard, but there is less delay now that shunting can be done to the east under the Hale-Trafalgar roundabout.
 
Jonathan Sher.