Never mind the barrier, I can beat the train... this time! Milepost 107.35 Cascade Sub - 17 Jun 2012 Andy Cassidy.

17 July 2012

Train Deaths Traumatic on Families and Engineers

Regina Saskatchewan - Following two separate accidents between pedestrians and Canadian Pacific trains over the weekend, including one that killed a man, CP spokesperson Kevin Hrysak doesn't consider security to be an issue.
 
"Unfortunately, there is a trespassing issue in and around this area," said Hrysak.
 
"We're trying to take all the measures we can to help educate the public of the dangers of trespassing through railway yards or using this as a shortcut."
 
Late Sunday night, a man was struck and killed by a moving train in an area near Saskatchewan Drive and Broad Street. It is believed that the man attempted to jump onto the train equipment, though his motivation for doing so is not yet known. At the time, the train was believed to have been travelling at less than 32 kilometres an hour.
 
The incident resulted is being investigated by CP and the Regina Police Service (RPS). Just before 10 p.m. Saturday, another man was trespassing on CP property near 8th Avenue and Broder Street. The pedestrian was hit by the train and taken to hospital with minor injuries. The train is believed to have been travelling at less than 16 kilometres an hour at the time. The incident remains under investigation.
 
In both incidents, engineers attempted to apply emergency brakes to stop the trains after spotting the pedestrians.
 
"We do have our Canadian Pacific Police Service who does monitor the area, plus our crews are vigilant in that regard, reporting anything out of the ordinary," said Hrysak.
 
Beyond educating the public as to the dangers of trespassing on CP property, fencing, and more vigilant monitoring, patrol of CP areas are other measures that may be taken to prevent trespassing. Victims are not the only ones affected with engineers often experiencing psychological trauma.
 
"They're always the first ones on the scene with these types of accidents," said Hrysak.
 
Following collisions with pedestrians, engineers are offered paid time off and critical-stress counselling for those who are interested.
 
"It can be different for each individual, but it does have some consequences for them too," said Hrysak. "It is something that's hard for them to deal with."
 
Hrysak reminds the public to avoid trespassing on CP property. Signage, safety crossing arms, and lights exist to keep the public safe and need to be obeyed. Hrysak suggests railway tracks should be treated as live and that the public should always expect railway equipment when crossing tracks