On January 11, Mayor Nancy Peckford posted a photograph of a freight prepare, taken by native resident Craig Stevenson, on Kemptville’s neighborhood Fb web page. The Mayor used the photograph to focus on the lively state of rail traces within the Municipality, urging readers to “be vigilant in any respect rail crossings always.”
For many individuals, railways and railway crossings don’t warrant a lot as a fleeting thought. We regularly go by the raised crossing arms with no prepare in sight on our commutes, and should sometimes have to attend for a passing prepare for a couple of minutes earlier than continuing. The one railway firm working by North Grenville is Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), whose so-called “Winchester subdivision” of their Toronto to Montreal branchline runs by east to west. The road runs south of the Kemptville city limits and simply north of Oxford Mills, lacking the populated areas within the Municipality.
The CPR lately upgraded the signaling and eliminated massive sections of what was a double monitor line, turning the Winchester subdivision right into a single monitor mainline with “siding” tracks, the place trains can pull over to go one another. For that reason, locals might discover extra situations of trains quickly blocking rail crossings in remaining double monitor sections whereas they wait for one more prepare. Rail transportation is extraordinarily secure and accidents, even at grade crossings, are uncommon. Nonetheless, accidents at crossings have a excessive likelihood of turning lethal once they do happen, due to the sheer dimension and velocity of trains, and their lack of ability to cease shortly. A freight prepare travelling on the most allowable velocity will usually take a kilometer or extra to cease if emergency braking is utilized, leaving little likelihood of stopping earlier than an obstruction at a crossing, equivalent to a automotive or pedestrian.
It's, subsequently, incumbent on highway customers to concentrate on rail security. Canada’s nationwide railway security marketing campaign, referred to as “Operation Lifesaver,” makes use of the straightforward phrase, “Look. Pay attention. Stay”, to show rail security. “Look. Pay attention. Stay” means precisely that. When approaching a railway crossing, no matter whether or not it has protections equivalent to flashing lights and barricades to warn of an oncoming prepare, you will need to look and hear for trains to make sure it's secure to cross. Transport Canada publishes a “Grade Crossings Stock,” classifying pertinent details about particular railway crossings in Canada, together with whether or not they have “lively” safety (i.e. lights and gates), or passive safety (i.e. signage solely).
Almost all railway crossings in North Grenville are categorized as having lively safety, however two stand out as having solely passive safety. One is at McGovern Highway, which is crossed solely by a little-used spur line of the railway, however the different is at Murphy Rd, west of Oxford Mills, the place a double tracked part of the mainline crosses the highway with no strategy to warn drivers if a prepare is coming. The part of highway that crosses the monitor is taken into account “unmaintained,” however with roughly eight quick, heavy freight trains passing this remoted public crossing each day, anybody who travels this space ought to be further cautious to deal with the crossing as a cease signal, and this contains off-road automobile customers as effectively.
Come to a whole cease, flip off the radio and the local weather management fan, and hear for an approaching prepare. If no approaching prepare is heard, creep slowly and search for trains, and proceed provided that there are none. Whereas protected crossings are safer, it's advisable to observe this process in any respect crossings, and observe that some well-maintained busier roads in neighboring localities nonetheless solely have passively protected railway crossings – one such crossing is at Crowder Highway close to Mountain. By no means try and beat a prepare over the crossing – ready only a few minutes can save your life, as a result of, in a race with a prepare, even when it's a tie, you lose!