Winnipeg Manitoba - A recent incident in the 2400 block of Pembina Highway where a 16-year-old was hit by a train and taken to hospital in critical condition brought back numerous memories for one Winnipeg man and he says locomotives should be doing more to alert drivers and pedestrians as they travel through the city.
 
On Sunday, police said a teenager suffered "life-altering" injuries as a result of the incident, but has since been upgraded to stable condition.
 
For Rushal Patel, he says the incident hits close to home.
 
Almost two years to ago to the day of the accident, a car he was in was also hit by a train near De Vos Road sending him and another man to hospital.
 
"The train should be honking from 1 or 2 kilometres away when entering the city area, so at least everybody can know the train was coming soon, or nearby at that time, so everyone is aware and alert," said Patel.
 
"When I woke up in the hospital around 3 or 4 a.m. in the morning, I wrote a text to my partner, who is working with me right now, and I said, what happened. Why am I here?"
 
Patel says both he and the man he was with were injured in the 2022 and feels more should be done to separate people from trains in the city, saying overpasses or underpasses at more intersections would be a big improvement, alongside more crossing signals overall.
 
"This is happening lots in Winnipeg."
 
Operation Lifesaver, which offers educational resources to encourage safe rail practices, says rail trespassing incidents are trending upwards across Canada, and that rail safety is a shared responsibility, with people advised to stay off the tracks, keep your distance, and to use designated crossings.
 
For Patel, he feels a few blows of the horn in busy places could prevent a future collision between trains and the public.
 
"At least they will stop, or they'll maybe be thinking to wait before they cross the train as well."
 
Morgan Modjeski.