Numerous people have asked us what happened to Bill C-587, the Railway Noise and Vibration Control Act.
As this Bill had not yet been passed by the time the federal election was called in the spring of 2011, it effectively “died on the order paper,” and proceeded no further, as is the case with all Bills that do not make it completely through the parliamentary process prior to an election being called.
However, an updated version of this Bill was recently introduced back into Parliament by New Westminster M.P. Peter Julian. Read more…
The President of Ontario Southland Railway, Mr. Jeff Willsie, recently submitted the following comment to Rail and Reason.
We feel that, given Mr. Willsie’s title as President, his opinions are important enough to feature as an article to share with our readers who may find these insights to be as revealing as we have.
Mr. Willsie’s opening comments about Mr. Bossart are in reference to our previous post, entitled “The Social Impact of Railways.”
We pause today to remember the three lives that were lost in Sunday’s Via Rail derailment in Burlington, Ontario.
Peter Snarr, Ken Simmonds, and Patrick Robinson had both their lives and careers cut tragically short in a horrific accident on Sunday, February 26, 2012. Read more…
To those of you familiar with this blog, you will be well acquainted with the views of Mr. Jeff Willsie, President of Ontario Southland Railway, and his opinions regarding the issue of railway noise and vibration.
For those of you new to this site, Mr. Willsie has frequently stated that people affected by this problem should simply just move.
Although we respect Mr. Willsie’s right to his opinion, we feel that this is an untenable position, given the complexity of the problem, compounded by the vast network of railways across Canada, increasing levels of rail traffic, the growing number of Canadians who are being adversely affected, and mounting evidence – which can no longer be ignored – about the impact of noise upon human health.
There are currently no set limits as to how much noise and vibration can be generated by a railway, but rather, only a more ambiguous requirement that levels be contained to “reasonable” levels, pitting the railway’s interests and economic concerns, often at odds, with the disrupted sleep of weary residents denied the ability to secure a basic necessity of life inside of their own homes.
Willsie asks us in a recent comment:
“What exactly is your your (sic) opinion of reasonable noise & vibration for an ongoing busy railway operation. Whistle noise does not count as any municipality can pass a bylaw if they wish.”
Here are our thoughts: Read more…
In the last few months, additional communities have continued to surface in the news with stories of how they are being affected by rail noise, vibration, exhaust from idling diesel locomotives, derailments, and other safety issues such as the transporting of hazardous materials. Some recent developments include…
(1) CP Rail has significantly expanded operations in its Alyth Yard in Calgary, AB without consultation of the Inglewood community. Residents are finding the noise intolerable. See the article and video Railway yard noise irks neighbours from the CBC on January 26, 2012. A local resident spoke to CBC’s Eyeopener on the same day.
(2) CP Rail has completed its consolidation of “Locomotive Reliability Centres” for maintenance of its fleet of locomotives. It now has facilities in Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, and St. Paul, Minnesota according to CP adds missing link to repair strategy on January 18, 2012 from the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) trade association. The Calgary facilty referenced in this article is, in fact, CP Rail’s Alyth facilty where resident complaints are noted the first story above.
Rail and Reason 