Updated: More trouble for Via in Barrhaven

Update: The following is a recap of the media's description of an incident at a Via Rail level crossing in Barrhaven from the Ottawa Citizen and CFRA.com. Please note the comment below the story from Via Rail's former COO John Marginson, which sheds a very different light on the incident compared to what was reported in the media. I'll leave it to you, the reader, to decide what to make of the official Via explanation and the media's account, both of which seem credible. - Michael

Via Rail has a target on its back in Barrhaven these days, and many in the city would say rightly so. The railway's ongoing issues with its level crossings in the suburb continue to tarnish the company's image in Ottawa's southwest neighbourhood. On May 29th, a local resident reported that the signals and crossing gates at the Fallowfield Road level crossing failed to activate when a Via train approached. The resident alerted media, explaining that Via crews were flagging down traffic as the train passed through.

Via Rail Train 643, bound for Toronto, approaches the McKenna Casey Drive crossing just outside Barrhaven on a sunny June 1st morning.

The report of this latest malfunction comes at a time when the railway is working hard to get out from underneath this problem. Despite a number of corrective measures taken, some of its problems seem to persist. You will recall from an earlier post, Via's Barrhaven Problem, that the railway's problems started with last fall's tragic train-bus collision at the Woodroffe Avenue crossing near Fallowfield Station.

Since that time, the company has taken a number of steps as it attempts to fix its list of problems, which have been blamed on road salt and electrical interference from nearby wires among a list of other factors. The railway recently appointed its former COO, John Marginson, to lead local efforts to fix these problems.

Since the report of the latest malfunction, all has been relatively quiet through Barrhaven, although the animosity lingers and likely will for some time.

Via Train 643 gears up as it crosses McKenna Casey Drive on June 1st. 

 

Since Via's leadership change and the appointment of John Marginson, the situation has improved, especially with the company's relationship with the city. However, when residents hear that crossing equipment failed because a train was moving too slowly through the crossing, as was the explanation in several media reports this time, the collective patience in Barrhaven seems to be wearing thin.

 

From the Ottawa Citizen, May 29th:

 

"Via tweeted saying the mishap occurred because the train was moving too slowly through the automatic warning device zone."

 

This line hosts both faster passenger trains and the occasional slow-moving freight trains. A train moving too slow through a crossing? That seems like a weak explanation to me. But, as I have mentioned before, I am not a technical expert, so I will reserve further comment.

 

Most here believe that the time has long since past to straighten out this mess. We have seen significant progress of late, which has raised expectations that these problems will soon be solved. One can only hope.



Via's Fallowfield Problem

The long shadow of last September's horrific train-bus collision continues to pose a huge problem for Via Rail in Ottawa. While there is still very little to explain how this collision on Woodroffe Avenue occurred, Via continues to struggle to explain why a number of level crossings in the Barrhaven neighbourhood continue to malfunction.

Five people on board an OC Transpo double-decker bus died in the September accident, including the bus's driver. No one on the train was seriously hurt.

For Via Rail, that accident was the beginning of a very serious problem in Ottawa's southwest end. The main problem the railway faces is that there are multiple crossings in this suburb that continue to malfunction, resulting in the crossing signals and gates kicking into failsafe mode, which means the lights and bells are triggered while the gates descend, even when no train is coming. The problem spots include Woodroffe Avenue and Fallowfield Road, the two level crossings on either side of Via's Fallowfield Station.

Recently, Via issued a statement that assured residents that the warning signals at four of the level crossings had been fixed. Unfortunately, the lights at the Fallowfield Road level crossing malfunctioned April 28, shortly after Via issued its statement.

Meanwhile, the railway continues to deploy personnel at the Woodroffe Avenue crossing and have reduced the speed of trains near this crossing.

An F40PH-2 leads a Via corridor train over the Woodroffe Avenue crossing on Victoria Day 2012 on its way to the Fallowfield Via Station. Photo was taken from the Fallowfield Station platform.

 

Making matters worse, a fair bit of misinformation has not reassured Barrhaven residents. There was speculation that there was sabotage happening at these level crossings, which had the Ottawa Police involved. The railway has since made it clear that this was not the case.

 

However, the railway has also suggested that the faulty equipment might be the result of the salt used to keep the right-of-way clear as well as the salt used to clear roads. Another suggestion made was that some nearby electrical wires are interfering with the crossing signals.

 

Most recently, Via issued a statement stating that two OC Transpo buses failed to stop behind the crossing gates, meaning they stopped for a passing train beneath the descending gates, which caused the gates to be damaged and again triggered the problems with the crossing signals reverting to failsafe mode. That theory was shot down by eyewitness accounts that suggested otherwise. When this theory was refuted, the city asked Via to retract its comments. And last week, the MP for the area, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, called for Via's CEO Steve Del Bosco to resign. And that is just what the Minister received as Via made the change in early May.

 

In the midst of all this confusion and finger-pointing, no definitive cause for these problems has been identified yet. The railway and RailTerm, the company that maintains the Smiths Falls Subdivision for Via, suggested a number of factors are affecting these signals. To make things more confusing, the cause of the malfunction at one crossing isn't necessarily the cause of the malfunction at another crossing, according to Via. These issues have been plaguing this corridor since February.

 

Read about Via's technical briefing with city officials here. Reading this story, you will get a good idea of how uninformed many in this city are about railways, which is understandable since much of the remaining rail network in the city is out of site and out of mind for most. But, for a columnist with the Ottawa Citizen to suggest that Barrhaven has the highest concentration of level crossings in Canada is downright silly.

 

Via has also posted material on its website explaining what it is doing to correct the problems in Ottawa.

 

Here's a small sketch (above) of the track around Fallowfield Station. As you can see, the track crosses many of the roads in Barrhaven at an angle, making the crossings somewhat awkward, especially during rush hour. Marker 1 is site of accident on Woodroffe Avenue. You can see the the thin grey line merging onto Woodroffe. That is the OC Transpo Transitway where the bus collided with the train in September. A separate signal is now being installed for this bus lane. Marker 2 is the Fallowfield Road level crossing. There is a similar crossing at Greenbank Road, Jockvale Road, Cedarview Road, and Moodie Drive, although the crossings get less busy as you head west.

Above: Via corridor train makes its way into Fallowfield Station at 11 p.m. on April 27.

I noticed an increased presence at the station when I picked up a friend who was visiting from Toronto recently. I also noticed that the personnel were watching me take photos. So clearly the railway is keeping a close eye on its assets in the area.

Train 657 makes its way southwest toward Toronto near the Moodie Drive crossing on August 25, 2013.

So, for the time being, it appears Via is apparently close to correcting the problems at most of its crossings, although much remains to be done. Given what happened last year and what's at stake, answers can't come soon enough.

Why Railways Matter (And Why I Blog About Them)

It all started with a few photos at Fallowfield Station.

My wife was on her way to London, to be an adjudicator in music festival in April 2012. I took her to the station where we waited for Train 55 to take her to Toronto and beyond. We watched from the platform as a P42 and streamliner consist made its way past the Woodroffe Avenue crossing to the station in Ottawa's suburban southwest end. I had been thumbing through prints of old train photos for months at home and had been considering what to do with them.

As the train pulled in, I snapped a number of photos, including this one below, not really knowing why. I liked what I saw, but I thought I could do something more with the photos other than add them to my computer.

Earlier that year, I had written a story about plans to start a shortline railway along the inactive CN Beachburg Subdivision for a now shuttered news site, OpenFile.ca. The initial story spawned a follow-up, although it didn't generate much of a response. As I stood at the Corkstown Road crossing along the Beachburg Sub, snapping photos for the story, I found myself lingering around the crossing, wondering what it would be like to have an active rail line so close to my home. At that point, I hadn't yet thought about taking photos, but the seeds had been planted.

Before I knew it, I was bringing my camera to Fallowfield Station whenever someone was coming to town to visit us or when we sent them home. I justified bringing the camera by telling myself that I hadn't landed a shot of an F40PH-2 yet, or I handed landed a shot of LRCs (like 6446 with Train 55 below) yet or I hadn't landed a shot of Renaissance cars yet. On and on it went. I kept telling my wife that it was a just a little harmless diversion. So she thought.

She should have known better. As you may know, the railways have a long history in my family.

Soon after those trips to Fallowfield, I talked to a few bloggers about ideas for a blog, because I knew I had a fair number of old train photos from the 1990s and had some thoughts to share. After some thought, I just started blogging. Before I knew it, I found myself taking photos of trains whenever I could find time. It's been tough to find time since I have a young daughter and a wife who works evenings, but I have managed to get a bunch of new photos and great story ideas.

Case in point: I took this photo (below) along Highway 401 when my family was travelling to Toronto on August 9th. I tried to catch a westbound Via just east Kingston, but this was all I managed to capture. The point is, I knew then I was hooked. I loved sharing my passion with railways in the few spare moments I can find.

I am now getting comfortable in my little corner of the internet, doing what I can to preserve the memory of railroading past and trying to get people thinking about the importance railways can still play in our country. I mention this because Ottawa is the city where railroading went to die. Much of what's left of our rail system here has been banished to the margins of the city. We have done little to preserve the railway tracks left in our city, but now find ourselves spending billions of dollars to build new railway lines and tunnels for a problematic light rail system. I am hoping that my blog can at least get people thinking about preserving what we have left here and investing in the future of this mode transportation in Ottawa and beyond. 

CN SD70 5622 speeds westward as an eastbound intermodal waits on the opposite track, near Woodbine Avenue in Markham, Ont. on August 10.

This is all a long-winded way of reflecting on my first few months of blogging. I also wanted to share some positive thoughts on railroading in Ottawa following the horrific bus-train collision last week in the city.

I was disappointed that many commentators and pundits here have suggested that the level crossing where the accident occurred is inherently unsafe. I find this statement highly speculative and unfortunate since so little is known about the crash. Those who follow this industry know that level crossings with working signals and safety barriers are perfectly safe, provided that everyone follows the rules, which means both train operators and motorists. I think part of the reason why there was so much speculation about this crossing has to do with the fact that Ottawans just aren't that knowledgeable about how railways work since so little of the rail system in this city remains.

Last week's accident only reinforces my conviction that train bloggers, no matter where they are, play an important role in ensuring that this crucial mode of transportation remains a vital part of this country.

Tragic bus-train collision in Ottawa

A double-decker city bus collided with westbound Via Rail Train 51 near Ottawa's Fallowfield Station during the Wednesday morning commute in Ottawa's south end. The horrific crash killed five bus passengers and the bus's driver. Thirty-four more people were treated at local hospitals for various injuries. Most reports said 11 people were in serious or critical condition. No one on Train 51 was hurt.

 Transportation Safety Board of Canada photo of P42 915

The train was pulling into nearby Fallowfield Station in the southern Barrhaven neighbourhood along Via's Smiths Falls subdivision. Train 51 had a four-car LRC consist and was being pulled by P42 915. The one saving grace, if there is such a thing in such a tragedy, was that the train had already slowed down significantly as it approached the station, meaning its impact with the bus was not as severe as it might have been had the train been travelling at a higher rate of speed. On the other side of Fallowfield Station, Via trains gear up quickly and speed through the next several level crossings on their way southwest toward Toronto. All of these crossings are equipped with signals and safety barriers.

 Transportation Safety Board of Canada photo of Via Train 51, Wed. Sept. 18

Local radio conversation has touched on the safety of level rail crossings along lines with trains travelling at high speeds. This speculation is partly the result of a long-delayed plan to build an underpass along Woodroffe Avenue, allowing traffic to pass under the track. I still think it's premature to begin a debate over the safety of  level crossings since we do not know what happened. Most motorists and bus drivers obey the rules when they approach such crossings, so any suggestions about rail crossings being inherently unsafe are unfortunate in the early aftermath of this tragedy.

 Transportation Safety Board of Canada photo of OC Transpo bus after the collision

Rather than provide any further thoughts on this tragedy, I will simply refer you to CBC Ottawa, the Ottawa Citizen or other local media like the Ottawa Sun or CTV Ottawa. You can also read the Via Rail statement here. Once more is known, I will consider whether I have anything worthwhile to share. Until that time, I will only say that my thoughts and prayers will be with those who were injured and those whose loved ones died in the accident.

I was planning to post a story this week that focused on this stretch of the Via Rail Smiths Falls subdivision. I will likely push this post back, as I think it would be inappropriate.