Safety board long urged new rail level-crossing regulations, safety assessments

OTTAWA – Federal transportation safety officials have been urging the government for years to do more to prevent the kind of level-crossing crash that claimed six lives in Ottawa.

The Transportation Safety Board says Transport Canada and the rail industry have taken steps to improve safety at crossings, but some recommendations remain outstanding.

The board says Transport Canada must implement new grade-crossing regulations, develop better standards for certain types of crossing signs, and continue its leadership role in crossing safety assessments.

It also calls for more efforts to improve public awareness of the dangers at railway crossings.

The safety board says that over the last decade, there have been 257 accidents involving passenger trains colliding with vehicles at level crossings in Canada.

It says 71 of these occurred in the Quebec City–Windsor corridor, Canada’s busiest and most travelled train route.