British Columbia
We’d like to hear your story about how railway noise and vibration has affected you, and your community. Tell us about the problems you’ve had – or are continuing to have – with railway noise and vibration. How has it affected you and your quality of life? We’d like to hear about your successes and frustrations in resolving your concerns, as well as hear what current conditions are like in your area.
News Articles, Blogs, Stories and Comments from BC Residents … and Posts Relating to BC …
- Bolivar Heights: Residents comment on the post Welcome to New Community Groups! Visit their website at Bolivar Heights.
- Coquitlam: Residents comment below.
- Golden: Residents comment on the post Defective Rail Cars a Safety Concern for Communities regarding CP Rail.
- Kamloops: Residents comment on the page Resources regarding CN Rail.
- New Westminster: Visit the residents’ website: The Quayside Community Board.
- Squamish: Residents are affected by excessive whistling. Read the article.
- Vancouver: Forestry industry complains of bad rail service in the post Forestry Industry Asks for Rail Service to be Regulated.
- North Vancouver: New community blog called RANT: Residents Against Noisy Trains.
- New Westminister: See the post Communities in the News.
- North Vancouver: See the post Communities in the News.
- Port Coquitlam: See the post Communities in the News.
- Port Moody: See the post Communities in the News.
- White Rock: See the post Communities in the News: The List Continues to Grow.
- North Vancouver: See the post Communities in the News: The List Continues to Grow.
- New Westminister: See the post Communities in the News: The List Continues to Grow.
- Prince George: See the post Communities in the News: The List Continues to Grow.
- Squamish: See the post Communities in the News: The List Continues to Grow.
- Golden: See the post Cellphone and Marijuana Use Cited in CP Rail Crash.
- New Westminister: See the post Federal Court of Appeal to Rule on Key Railway Noise and Vibration Issue.
- Golden: See the post FAQ: Contacting Canada’s Two Largest Railways With Your Railway Noise and Vibration Problem.
- Golden: See the post FAQ: Contacting Canada’s Two Largest Railways With Your Railway Noise and Vibration Problem.
- New Westminister: See the post FAQ: Contacting Canada’s Two Largest Railways With Your Railway Noise and Vibration Problem.
- Golden: See the post FAQ: Contacting Canada’s Two Largest Railways With Your Railway Noise and Vibration Problem.
- Pitt Meadows: See the post Communities in the News: Health and Environmental Concerns Raised.
- North Vancouver: See the post Communities in the News: Health and Environmental Concerns Raised.
- Prince George: See the post Communities in the News: Health and Environmental Concerns Raised.
- Prince Rupert: See the post Communities in the News: Health and Environmental Concerns Raised.
- Prince George: See the website People’s Action Committee for Healthly Air (PACHA).
- Pitt Meadows: See the website Pitt Polder Preservation Society.
I live in Coquitlam and have to deal with shunting, vibration, and locomotive idling 3-4 nights a week. We are on the CP line, and when I contacted them about the issue, they basically told me tough luck.
I’m a pilot and we have strict noise abatement procedures that we must follow at airports, surely Transport Canada can impose some sort of procedure for the rail industry as well.
We would recommend getting back in touch with CP Rail and letting them know that the “tough luck” option ran out for them on June 22, 2007.
That is also the day when CP stopped being “Cannot Participate” and turned into “Cooperation Pending” when Parliament passed Amendments to The Canada Transportation Act, under clauses 95.1- 95.3, to address unreasonable railway noise and vibration levels, and obliged railways to take into account “the area where the construction or operation takes place” such as residential areas.
A process was subsequently set into motion that returned jurisdiction to The Canadian Transportation Agency to oversee such complaints, and to render a Decision on the matter if a collaborative approach, including a formal mediation process, fails.
Telling you “tough luck” would not be particularly collaborative, it seems.
Perhaps you could get back in touch with your point of contact at CP and wish them a warm welcome back to accountability, after a 7 year hiatus.
Competitor CN Rail’s strenuous objection and legal challenge of prior regulation saw provisions for railway noise and vibration overturned in 2000, leaving many affected communities across Canada wallowing in a noisy, regulatory void. Many experienced severely impacted living conditions. Without regulation, often people found their complaints to rail companies frequently disregarded, ignored or otherwise unresolved.
In response, Parliament passed Amendments to reign in a problem that rail companies allowed to fester out of control. Railways could have quite possibly avoided this step being taken if they had chosen to self-regulate instead. They had a 7 year window in which to do this.
They failed. Parliament stepped in, and now affected citizens have a process in place to address unreasonable noise and vibration from railway operations.
Please review our “Resources” page for information about this process. Let CP know – in writing – what specific aspects of their operations you are finding unreasonable, and why. Be detailed. Have there been any changes in operations that have led to any of the problems you are experiencing? Include that information as well.
Searching by location, is your area one that has been affected by the change in yard operations in that freight containers are no longer being used as a form of noise barrier? We have heard unconfirmed reports of this being a problem in around your general area, leading to increased noise levels.
Are your neighbours experiencing the problems that you are? Consider having them sign on to the letter you provide to CP, possibly in the form of a petition. Give a copy to the City, and ask them to get involved. The guidelines put together by The Canadian Transportation Agency encourage their participation. Ask them to meet to discuss the problems with the rail company, along with constructive solutions.
Keep a detailed log of the problems you believe to be unreasonable, along with notes as to what works well. Make sure CP knows what specific things it does that reduce the impact of its operations. Sometimes making relatively minor modifications in operations can significantly reduce noise and vibration disturbances, such as where idling engines are left, and ensuring that engines are not unnecessarily left running.
If problems persist, consider requesting mediation from the Canadian Transportation Agency with CP. Local officials could participate in this process as well, so consider asking them.
After exhausting all collaborative measures such as this, if problems persist, you could then consider returning to the Agency with your complaint for their consideration to render a formal public Decision on the matter, on the basis that you meet the required criteria to have them intervene.
We wish you success in resolving this situation.
Hello all,
I am a VERY concerned mom. I have 2 children and one already has a heart condition. We live RIGHT on the train track. Well ok, just a few feet from the track, literally the track line backs up against my fence.
I have been fighting with CP for 5 years now about their trains idling for HOURS at a time in my back yard where my kids play. CP doesn’t give a poop and will not stop polluting my family. I have fought and fought about this to CP and begged them stop somewhere else and to stop being negligent to the health and safety of the community they are polluting.
I am so sad about this cause we just can’t afford to move and my kids are exposed to DIRECT diesel fumes for hours a day. As well the noise is so loud for them to be playing right beside an idling train all day.
As CP has made it known they don’t care about the health of my family I want to sue but am unsure if I can or how. Does anyone have any advice for me?
We are very sorry to hear that you and your family are being negatively affected by rail operations.
You’re not alone in this problem, we get more complaints about idling locomotives than anything else, which is quite remarkable, considering the high cost of fuel, and “fuel conservation” policies.
You might find it helpful to log these incidents, recording time, duration, location, and engine numbers, if visible from a location not on railway property.
The reason we suggest this is that it may prove of assistance if you decide to contact The Canadian Transportation Agency to ask for their help in trying to resolve the issue from the standpoint of unreasonable noise and vibration from rail operations.
Are any of your neighbours being affected by this? Was this situation the result of an operational change made by CP Rail, and when? Has the railway ever provided an explanation?
Have you notified local city officials about your concerns, and asked if they could contact the railway on your behalf?
Have you notified CP in writing yourself about your concerns? If so, what sort of feedback has the railway provided? Have they acknowledged your concerns?
The key here, in our opinion, is to try (and track) all collaborative measures possible to show that you’ve done all possible to try to find a solution with the railway. Take a look on our resources page at the links we’ve provided to The Canadian Transportation Agency and the official dispute resolution process.
We wish you well, stay in touch.
I can’t stand the honking at night! I understand it’s industry standard to honk at intersections to warn motorists, but don’t we have all the infrastructure?? There are lights, both traffic and train, as well as a gate, at Begbie; similarly, the overpass.. I don’t understand why they’re honking. Godforbid it’s for communication and we’ve been putting up with irritating, cacophonous morse-code because they haven’t splurged on walkie-talkies
I hope the pending litigation is successful, you have my undying/unsleeping support. If you need a guerrilla-esque honk-squad to sonically bombard the CEO of CP’s house at 3am with airhorns, just mosey on up to Agnes- we’ll be here.
We presume you are referring to New Westminster, B.C., in an area of high-density residential housing, where, as we understand it, the majority of railway activity takes place after midnight.
All in all, a thoroughly untenable situation, and a good example of why solutions have to be found to keep railways operating safely and less obtrusively for its residential neighbours.
Your question is a good one, and one that more and more Canadians are asking, and need to continue asking. It’s time for answers and meaningful solutions.
Trains are creating a lot of noise pollution in the Coquitlam area. I would like to inform you about what happens in Europe where population and train traffic is a lot denser than here in the Canada.
Trains in Europe don’t honk. Period.
Drivers are assumed to respect the red lights, barriers and bell signals at the railroad crossings. Offenders are caught by cameras just as they are caught while not-respecting a red light at other traffic crossings.
Penalties are severe and can even include drivers license suspension and jail time (just as for drunk driving).
If I understand it well, some syupid rule forces the trains to honk always, several times at every railroad crossing in the Canada.
Instead of solving the real problem (hunt and fine the offenders) this law is punishing everyone living miles around railroads.Please stop the noise pollution and help us to have a better sleep at night.
Thank you for your comments, we completely agree with you. The rule you refer to, 14 l – can be found in the Canadian Railway Operating Rules.
With the amount of rail activity now taking place late at night here in Canada, we believe it is imperative that a less-invasive signalling system be established at crossings in residential areas.
The idea that that it is acceptable and necessary to routinely compromise the sleep of residents in order to operate a train safely is in dire need of an overhaul to a more integrated approach, one that focuses on the safety of the railways and its personnel, balanced by a healthy respect for neighbouring residential communities’ basic requirement for rest and sleep.
The current system of blasting whistles in the middle of the night, often repeatedly disrupting the rest of weary residents, seems to make these folks a form of collateral damage in the course of rail operations. The effects of sleep deprivation are well-known; and it’s time to establish a less intrusive railway warning system that addresses this growing problem.
In order to keep railway operations safe, residents too often feel that theirs is compromised by the inability to get sufficient rest inside their own homes.
Railways strenuously deter trespassing on their property – and for a number of good reasons.
And yet, the use of high-decibel piercing whistles waking people inside their own homes, thoroughly disrupting them…isn’t this, in fact, an auditory form of trespass?
It’s time to rethink the current system…we think that there are better solutions that keep railways operating safely, residents functioning properly, and a healthier relationship between the two.
Thank you for bringing up some excellent points.
These clowns are arrogant. If they want a war give it to them. Everybody should put up blockades and shut them down for as long as it takes. Or go to their houses and honk our car and truck horns all day while they are trying to sleep.If idiots are going to beat trains at crossings then it\s their problem just like someone jumping off a bridge.