Saint John railway crossing needs gates, lights to prevent tragedy, resident says

With two new cranes on their way to Port Saint John allowing the port to handle larger vessels and more cargo some residents are concerned about the increase in traffic at a level railway crossing near the railway yard.

Michael Kraut lives by the Sea Street crossing, near Bayshore Beach, on the city's west side.

Kraut said while the increase in traffic is a positive for the economy and for employment, he believes it poses a safety issue.

"Bayshore Beach was a hidden gem for locals it's now for tourism," he said, adding there are also multiple new developments in the area, including his.

"We're on the Bay of Fundy very, very foggy. You cannot see the train. The stop signs are right in front of the crossing. On a foggy day, you can't see it.

"As a result, you're going to have a catastrophic result."

Kraut said there is someone from NBM Railways, owned by J.D. Irving, who stays next to the Sea Street crossing when a train is coming to tell people to stop but in the fog or at night, that person is too hard to see, he said.

Kraut wants to see lighting and gates installedto avoid anything bad from happening.

Residents of the area met with the mayor of Saint John and councillors at an outdoor gathering on Sea Street recently to talk about the concerns.

Kraut said the city officials have been understanding of the situation when residents have brought it up.

Joanna Killen is the councillor for Ward 1, which encompasses the area of concern.

She agreeswith Kraut that the stop sign isn't very visible, and the train whistles are easy to miss if you have loud music playing or kids yelling in the car.

"We really need to get those gates and lights installed there, and the city is actively working with both the province, the federal government and the industrial partners to have these discussions right now," said Killen.

"Thanks to people like [Kraut] and the neighbours who are rallying together, we're able to elevate this conversation and hopefully get some results here in the near future."

Both Killen and Kraut say there have been near misses at the crossing.

Dorothy Shephard, the MLA for Saint John Lancaster, which includes Sea Street, said she has been talking to residents in the area for about a year now about the issue and also attended the recent meeting.

She said that a few years agoshe started working with New Brunswick Southern Railway one of the short-line railroads included in NBM Railways and the city to install gates at Sand Cove Road and Sherbrooke Street because the train whistles were constant.

But Sea Street didn't see that same whistle interruption, so the other two crossings were prioritized, with the idea that more would come.

Sea Street, she said, is the one that needs tobe done next.

Shephard said she thinks the project needs to be collaborative responsibility, with partners that would include N.B. Southern, Port Saint John, the province and others.

"It took about two years to to work through the issues with Sherbrooke Street and Sand Cove Road," Shephard said, when asked how long something like this could take.

"Some of that, of course, was procurement coming out of COVID. So I don't know how long it should take.

"I think it should be as soon as possible."

In an emailed statement, Transport Canada confirmedthe crossing is owned by New Brunswick Southern Railway and regulated by the province.

CBC News askedJ.D. Irving whether a gated crossing with lights is being considered. In an emailed statement, spokesperson Anne McInernysaid the Sea Street crossing "complies with federal regulations for rail safety," with advance warnings, stop signs and crossbucks, which are signs that indicate a level railway crossing.

She also said the speed limit "does not exceed 10 km/hr" and the the company has "committed our share of funding for those crossings the City deems a priority."

The statement provided clarity on whether there is an Irving employee standing at the crossing when trains go through, saying,"In instances where the locomotive is pushing the cars through the crossing (vs. pulling), a conductor stands on the last train car so as to serve as the locomotive engineer's eyes and ears. This is a federal requirement and one we comply with. I expect that is what the neighbourhood sees from time to time."

Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon posted on Facebookfollowing the gathering with residents, encouraging partners to work together on getting train gates at the crossing in order to improve the quality of life for residents, because it would "permanently eliminate the need for train horns in the neighbourhood."

But noise isn't Kraut's main concern. He said he often sees people blow through the stop signs at the crossing.

It brings him back to when he was 25 years old and a first responder in Manitoba.

Kraut said he was on the scene of a terrible incident at a train crossing that took the lives of three people.

Now 65, he still thinks of itthis day and fears that if something isn't done soon, a similar event could happen here.