Hamilton railway crossing among most accident-prone in country
Chris Seto | CBC News | Posted: April 13, 2016 2:21 PM | Last Updated: April 18, 2016
Five crashes involving trains at Cochrane Road crossing since 2005
The railway crossing at Cochrane Road in east Hamilton has been among the most accident-prone in the country over the past 16 years.
A CBC News analysis of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board`s rail accident database revealed that since 2000 this crossing is tied for fifth-most accidents, with five collisions over the 16-year time period. There were two injuries but no fatalities at the intersection.
The issue is simple: you don't try to beat the train, ever. - Local resident and former MP, Wayne Marston
It shares its fifth-place ranking with more than a dozen other crossings across the country that have also had five accidents. The crossing with the most accidents in Canada is in London, Ont. It had 12 over this same period.
At the time of the most recent Cochrane Road accident in 2013, where one person was seriously injured when a woman driving a car struck the train and was rushed hospital, investigators indicated that approximately 12 trains and an estimated 1,200 vehicles use that crossing daily.
Accident data also shows that while there have been just over 3,500 crossing accidents across the country since 2000, there have been at least 35 in the Hamilton area over that same time period.
'It was scary hearing it happen'
There are no arms at the crossing, between Hixon Road and Dunkirk Drive, just two sets of flashing red lights and warning bells.
When residents living near the tracks were informed of the crossing's accident track record, many seemed to respond with a similar reaction: surprise at first, and then after a few moments of consideration, understanding.
The crossing is near a train yard and residents say a combination of slower-moving trains and frequent occasions where the warning lights come on with no trains coming immediately tempt some drivers to either ignore or try to beat the signals.
Barb Marston and her husband Wayne have lived on the street since 1998. Over the last few years, they can remember at least three or four crashes on the tracks, not too far from their home.
Barb said she can still remember the sound of the impact of the last few incidents.
"It was scary hearing it happen," she said. "You hate to go outside to see the damage."
'You don't try to beat the train, ever'
Her husband, Wayne Marston, is a former NDP MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and also worked in the signals department for Canadian National Railway in the 1960s and 1970s.
He said he's seen his fair share of collisions between trains and vehicles, including some fatalities. He said 99 per cent of the time, people are trying to race to get ahead of the train, and losing.
"The issue is simple: you don't try to beat the train, ever," he said.
The speed limit on the street was changed to 40km/h in the last few years but cars still rip down the street at closer to 65km/h, he said.
The train yard near the crossing at Cochrane Road is where shipments get moved around, he said. If the train is coming from the yard, heading southeast along the tracks, Marston said it's typically moving slowly, carrying a heavy load and going slightly up hill.
For trains heading northwest towards the yard, he said they're likely heading in to pick up a load and they tend to be moving much faster than trains heading the opposite way.
According to data from the Transportation Safety Board, the previous four collisions at this crossing have involved trains heading north. These trains were travelling between 27 and 35 miles per hour when these collisions took place.
Clear sightlines
Vicky Ratelle has lived on Cochrane Road for 28 years. She believes most of the collisions are likely caused by inattentive drivers. The signals are easy to see and they can be seen from a far distance from both sides of the tracks.
She admits she sometimes ignores the signals. With the train yard so close, it often happens where a train will be shifting around its load and won't be blocking the road, but the warning lights will still be flashing.
Whenever this happens she said she will stop at the tracks and then cross when she sees it's safe. This is why it's good there's no arms to come down, she said or you wouldn't be able to go around.
Ratelle also said trains are typically slower to reach the crossing when heading southeast, away from the yard.
Ratelle says sometime the trains are stopped on the tracks blocking the road for several minutes at a time. That is also a reason why some drivers try to get through the flashing lights before they have to sit and wait.
"It can be a long wait, (in your car)" she said, adding sometimes vehicles are lined up down the road waiting on the train. "I can see why people would try to beat it."