Hour-long delay for stalled train prompts 5 Londoners to file official complaints

Londoners are finally so fed up with stalled railway trains, they're willing to talk on the phone. 

That's according to Transport Canada, who say they received five separate complaints about a July incident that saw a Canadian Pacific Railway train stalled downtown for more than an hour, and desperate pedestrians climbed between rail cars to cross the street. 

Five complaints may not sound like much, but it's a sharp increase considering that Londoners have in the past proven more willing to tweet their frustration than pick up the phone to make a call.

In May, Transport Canada told CBC News it hadn't received a single complaint about stalled trains in the past six months— despite plenty of social media grumbling about trains stopped for 10 minutes or more. 

According to federal regulations, stopped trains can't block crossings for more than five minutes, and are required to move immediately if emergency vehicles need to pass.

In response to the July 18 incident, Transport Canada handed CP a letter of non-compliance and a Section 31 Notice under the Railway Safety Act. In an email statement, the railway regulator added that it's now reviewing CP's response to the notice to "determine next steps."

For their part, CP told CBC News the blocked crossing resulted from an abnormal mechanical issue, and that they worked to resolve the issue "as expeditiously as possible."

"CP regrets the inconvenience to the public," a CP spokesperson said in an email.

Nothing but a 'slap on the wrist,' says Squire

Despite the relative spike in calls, Ward 6 Coun. Phil Squire said he doesn't think anything will come of the snafu, calling Transport Canada's notice to CP a "bureaucratic slap on the wrist."

"It's one bureaucracy saying to another 'shame on you,' and then things just carry on," said Squire, who's running for re-election in the fall. 

"I don't see in CP or CN a desire for change."

Squire says London is past the point where it makes sense to physically move the tracks, and that the only workable solution is to build infrastructure around the crossings. 

An underpass near the busy Adelaide St. crossing is already in the works. In August, city staff released a design that will route Adelaide's four lanes of traffic beneath the tracks, and cost $58 million.

CP is expected to pay about 15 per cent of that cost, or just under $9 million.

"They're giving us a little bit of money towards that, but hardly anything at all," Squire said.

"It's on us to do the best we can, and that's doing the underpass."

Both London Police and Canadian Pacific have warned against climbing between cars, an act they point out is dangerous and illegal.