Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area
2008, July 15 - VIA passenger train #60 hits a flatbed truck carrying a bulldozer which had bottomed out and unable to move on a crossing at Mallorytown.
The locomotive and baggage car were derailed, minor injuries.
| Montreal Gazette 16 July 2008 Montreal-bound train derails A Via Rail train carrying 175 passengers to Montreal from Toronto derailed yesterday after a tractor-trailer became stuck on the tracks. Five people suffered minor injuries. The incident occurred about 3:15 p.m. in Mallorytown, 60 kilometres east of Kingston, Ontario Provincial Police said. The train smashed into the tractor-trailer and two cars derailed, including the engine and the baggage car, OPP Sgt. Darin Kirker said. The driver escaped the truck, Kirker added. The engine operator, the only person in a derailed car, was among the injured. The passengers were to be transported by bus to Montreal. The OPP continue to investigate the crash. TSB report R08T0158 CTV News 23 September 2021 Front of Yonge Township says fix crossing, then they'll endorse CN Rail Safety Week MALLORYTOWN, ONT. -- This week is CN Rail Safety Week across North America, a campaign that promotes safety awareness around rail lines. However, one eastern Ontario Township is refusing to jump on the campaign, saying one of their crossings is unsafe. Train whistles are a common sound for residents living in Front of Yonge Township and the Village of Mallorytown, throughout the day and through the night. It's an issue KOA Campground owner and township councillor Richard Marcoux says they are trying to fix. "It's a constant feedback from our clients from the noise, they can't sleep, it's very disruptive," Marcoux said. "They think they're coming camping in a rural area and it's worse than being in the city." To propose ceasing whistles between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., a Train Whistle Cessation Study was implemented by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in 2017. It revealed that three of the four crossings in the township would need minor safety improvements. It also noted the most dangerous crossing, right in the village, needs major upgrades, according to township Mayor Roger Haley. "There's line of sights, road safety, the crossing is too high, it's just a mess," Haley said. "Since that time, almost five years now, we've been working on the safety of this crossing." A national Transportation Safety Board report from April 2019 also noted that, "Whistle cessation may be implemented once recommended actions for safety improvements at the crossing have been completed." A train derailment at the crossing on County Road 4 occurred in 2008, involving a semi truck and a VIA Rail passenger train. Ten people were injured when a truck with a low-boy trailer got hung up on the tracks and was hit by an eastbound train. Haley said after that incident, only one minor safety change was made to the crossing. "All they did after the derailment was put a sign up on either side of the tracks saying low-lying trucks shouldn't use this crossing," Haley said. "A few weeks ago, (CN) sent out a request for municipalities to endorse Sept. 20 to the 26 for Rail Safety Week," he added. "My council, we were quite surprised given the situation here, and why would we do that? Why would we endorse a company that doesn't abide by its own safety regulations? It's sort of hypocritical." Haley said he's even reached out to federal transportation ministers for help on the issue, but nothing has come of it. "The past two ministers, the current minister and the former minister, I contacted both of them with the transport safety board's recommendations and they haven't responded," he said. "And they haven't responded to our MP Michael Barrett either." Both men say they were in discussions with CN after the engineering study was released, but talks have now slowed. "In this case CN is ignoring us," Marcoux said. "They are just not participating at all, they are not living up to their end of the bargain and this rail safety week is like an insult to us." "So far they've called us maybe once a year saying, 'Oh yeah, we're on top of it,' but they haven't done anything about it," added Haley. "Nobody would build a road like a ski ramp that we have here, and that's what that truck got hung up on," said Marcoux.  "From what I understand, those two authorities come to an agreement, split the cost and there are even government grants we've been told about that help with these type of things," he said. "But, until CN will come to the table and talk with the road authority, we can't even get started." "This is very frustrating," he said. "Once it's all safe, we can have the whistles turned off, but the first thing is we've got to get this (crossing) safe," said Marcoux. "It's just very disappointing that CN asks for an endorsement for a safety week but they don't show that they have many serious thoughts about doing that," added Haley. CTV News Ottawa reached out to CN Rail for comment regarding the Mallorytown crossing, but hasn't heard back at the time of publishing. |
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Updated 24 September 2021