Sudbury Ontario - Several railway crossings in Sudbury are set to be upgraded after the federal government brought in new safety rules to deal with the high numbers of collisions between cars and trains across the country.
 
With tracks snaking across Sudbury, there are about 40 rail crossings for cars to negotiate in the city.
 
Some now require barriers to be added.
 
"All signalized crossings require gate controls. So the rail companies are just sort of making their way through the city and down their rail line implementing these gate crossings," said Tony De Silva, an operations engineer with the City of Greater Sudbury.
 
In 2014, there were 180 collisions at rail crossings in Canada and 21 people died, according to data from the Transportation Safety Board.
 
Pick Your Highest Risk Culprits
 
The new regulations call for all crossings that need upgrades to be dealt with in the next seven years.
 
Not all of the roughly 17,000 crossings around the country will need changes, but it will still be a tall order, said Mike Regimbal, the national director for Operation Lifesaver, a group that works to prevent deaths and injuries involving trains.
 
"You pick your highest risk culprits and then you tackle them first so you reduce your risk on your existing crossings," he said.
 
Exactly who pays for work at rail crossings is a moving target, but in most cases the majority of the cost falls to the city because the tracks were there before the roads, De Silva said.
 
The federal government is also offering funding to help install the new safety equipment at rail crossings.
 
So far in Sudbury, funding has been approved to upgrade crossings at Lasalle Boulevard east of Falconbridge and on O'Neil Drive in Garson.
 
Funding applications for crossings on Marier Street in Azilda, and Government Road in Coniston, are pending the city said.
 
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