Problems Persist at St. Thomas Train Crossing

Andrew Harvey never thought that the train crossing he uses during his daily commute in St. Thomas would end up costing him $1,000 in damages to his car’s front end.

“These tracks are in bad shape and even if you’re driving under the speed limit, it still manages to damage your vehicle,” said Harvey, who had to replace both lower control arms on his 2020 Kia after hitting the crossing on First Avenue last month.

“The edges around [the tracks] look like a massive pothole. We’ve seen a few cars pass here making loud noises, and other cars nearly come to a complete stop just to get over them.”

The condition of the Canadian National (CN) rail crossing in St. Thomas – often referred to as Railway City – has angered residents who have been urging for repairs for months.

There’s also confusion about whether it’s the city’s job or the railway company’s responsibility to fix it. CBC News talked to several residents who said they’ve reached out to both CN and the city but received mixed signals about who’s accountable for the repair.

Maintenance responsibilities shared

Mayor Joe Preston clarified that maintaining the rail crossing is a shared duty. The city must keep up with road maintenance surrounding the tracks, while CN is responsible for everything on their rail line. However, he mentioned that poor cooperation and communication from CN has delayed repairs despite ongoing efforts from city officials.

Preston stated that CN’s flag personnel need to coordinate with city staff so traffic can be redirected while repairs take place, adding that his team has sent over a dozen emails trying to arrange this collaboration with CN.

“We need cooperation since it’s our road and their tracks but it often takes forever for them to respond,” he said.

“We rely on railways for moving industrial products out of St. Thomas, but we can’t have people slowing down to 15 kilometers an hour just to cross a railway line on our main roads.”

Andrew Harvey says he’s faced $1,000 worth of damages to his vehicle after driving over the First Avenue train crossing in St. Thomas. City officials and CN Rail both say it’s a shared responsibility but Harvey and other residents want it fixed immediately. (Isha Bhargava/CBC)

CN spokesperson Michelle Hannan mentioned in an email that the company “is aware of and remains engaged” regarding the crossing.

However, locals who have no choice but to drive over these train tracks say they don’t care whose job it is; they just want action taken.

“All I see is them passing responsibility back and forth while only auto repair shops benefit from this situation,” said Harvey. “They’re profiting off people who are already struggling financially.”

St. Thomas resident Dan Mc Donald noted that construction nearby has increased traffic around the tracks. He rode his brand new motorcycle over them recently and heard a loud noise that made him think something was broken.

Though there were no damages, Mc Donald has had to take longer routes around town just so he can avoid the railway crossing altogether.

The First Avenue train crossing has potholes around its edges, forcing vehicles to halt their speed when driving over it. (Isha Bhargava/CBC)

“Your vehicle makes such a huge sound when you go over it, plus you bounce; it’s really rough riding through there especially since it’s a 60-kilometer zone where cars tend to go faster too,” Mc Donald said.
“You’ll see cars slamming on their brakes because it’s gotten that bad.”

“I’d really like someone just start working on fixing it already. They’ve repaired other sections before during my time here, but this one’s by far in worse shape than I’ve ever seen.” It’s at a point where I could easily see someone stopping suddenly getting rear-ended.”

Preston shares these concerns yet emphasized that without permission from CN – which owns the tracks – nothing can be changed by municipal workers. After further talks with CN representatives, he hopes work will kick off next week.

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