New Westminster British Columbia - A three-minute blast from a train is no laughing matter for New Westminster residents who've become all too familiar with rail derailments across Canada.
 
A lengthy train whistle sounded at 5:05 a.m. on 30 Dec 2013, drew the wrath of residents, and sparked banter on Twitter.
 
"No I did not order the one minute train whistle blast at 5:05 a.m. this morning," tweeted Stephen O'Shea.
 
"I'm certain it was longer than that! I don't normally complain about the trains, but... " replied Tania Jarzebiak.
 
"Lemme guess, mechanical failure, just like the last time?" tweeted Jen Arbo.
 
The City of New Westminster and the Quayside Community Board both voiced concerns about a one-minute train whistle that awoke many residents at 4:50 a.m. on 12 Sep 2013, a sound that was later attributed to malfunctioning whistle.
 
Following the 30 Dec 2013 incident, Brian Allen, chair of the Quayside Community Board's railway noise committee, quickly fired off an email to the lawyer representing the four railway companies operating in New Westminster.
 
He voiced concerns about "another disturbing event" involving rail safety equipment.
 
"CP locomotive numbered 4508 sitting still had its horn on FULL BLAST for almost three minutes... In the last event you had reported that the event was a result of a jarring of an electric switch while the train was moving... What happened this time, when the train was not moving?," he wrote.
 
This is very concerning.
 
If simple rail safety equipment isn't being maintained and safety protocols are not being followed, Allen questions what other rail safety risks residents are being exposed to.
 
He asked for a copy of any complaint log and safety reports that the rail companies might have for the Quayside area in recent months, as well as future logs and/or complaints for the Quayside area.
 
"Again, this is very concerning and disturbing," he wrote.
 
"If rail equipment is not being properly maintained or upgraded, or staff are not properly trained in its use, or if rail company management is not monitoring and managing rail safety and operations in this yard, what other risks are the residents of this community being exposed to?"
 
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr, a member of the city's community advisory panel that meets with railways, is looking into the matter.
 
Puchmayr emailed CP Rail on 5 Jan 2014 and asked for a briefing.
 
"The last time it was a mechanical malfunction. I believe it was a mechanical malfunction," he told The Record.
 
"We have to realize, the fact that these are really low-speed rail corridors, it seems that the older equipment seems to gravitate to those areas."
 
Puchmayr said he's beginning to wonder if the age of the train equipment is playing a role in the whistle incidents, even though it's built to last.
 
"Nevertheless, when you have hydraulics and you have air compressors and valves, they can go," he said.
 
"Are they maintaining them to the same degree is something we can look at, we can talk to them about, what are you going to do to make sure these incidents don't happen?"
 
Puchmayr said he's heard long whistles for years, but suspects people are more in tune with them today.
 
He said protocols have changed and railways are trying to use fewer whistles along the waterfront corridor.
 
"We are trying to work with the railroads. We look at the impacts of the self regulation model that's happened in the railways, that is very concerning," he said.
 
"If you have railways that are regulating themselves more so than oversight by Transport Canada, than are some of those mechanical things, are they going to be put aside, or are they going to be less of a priority? Those are issues that are valid issues. We need to look at making sure there is an oversight body that regulates the railways and looks at all aspects of safety, including equipment safety."
 
A number of railway derailments have attracted headlines in recent months, most notably the July 2013 tragedy in Lake Megantic where a runaway train rolled down a steep slope into town, derailed, and exploded, leaving 47 dead and the downtown area ravaged.

Theresa McManus.