Dartmouth's nighttime train whistle could be gone in weeks

Dartmouth residents hoping for an end to late night train whistles will have to wait a little longer.

CN Rail and city officials are working on one more safety update before the loud blasts can be stopped.

"The people that are in direct line of sight of the train ... they're bothered a lot," said Wyatt McLean, who lives at Admiralty Place.

"People that can't see the train — it's not as bad, but it'll still wake you up if you have your windows open."

CN freight trains began leaning on the horn, even in the middle of the night, after the King's Wharf condos went up. CN officials have said they have no other choice, given the increased car and pedestrian traffic.

Earlier this year, developer Francis Fares, the city and CN agreed to share the cost of some safety upgrades to the King's Wharf crossing. There were hopes the train whistles would be stopped by the end of the summer, but they have continued.

"At the time CN did their absolute final inspection to confirm the infrastructure was in place to allow the whistle to stop, they discovered evidence of trespassing on the right-of-way," said city spokesperson Steve Higgins.

The illegal crossings are taking place closer to the former Dartmouth City Hall and a children's playground than they are to King's Wharf.

CN Rail wants a fence and Higgins says city and rail officials have been negotiating a cost-sharing agreement.

"It looks like it's about 450 metres or so of fencing." he said. "We believe right now it's probably in the range of about $50,000."

The fencing project needs approval from city council. Once it is installed, CN will have to reinspect the area and then make a request to Transport Canada to have the train whistles stopped.

Higgins hopes that is only weeks, not months away.