Back in the spring, the Fourtown Journal was among the first community newspapers to break the story of CN Rail looking to charge farmers along the Bredenbury line for work done to grade crossings leading onto their land. At the time, the railway was looking to have farmers sign an agreement which would have meant that farmers, in some cases, could be billed thousands of dollars for work done on those crossings by the rail company. The work was to be done by crews from the railway, at the discretion of the company. At the same time, farmers were receiving these contracts to sign with very little notice or explanation.
As this is an interprovincial matter, involving farmers from both sides of the border, Manitoba MP Dan Mazier who represents the Manitoba constituency of Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa was among those who took up the issue with the railway and Transport Canada.
Last week, it appeared that the continuous pressure put on the Minister of Transport may have paid off as Transport Canada released the following Regulations Amending the Grade Crossings Regulations.
Here is the most important and relevant information that may impact you:
Transport Canada (TC) has determined that stakeholders will be unable to meet the November 28, 2021, compliance deadline for thousands of existing grade crossings. The COVID-19 pandemic has been partly responsible for the delays; however, there are also other factors, such as a lack of clarity among stakeholders about specific responsibilities and liabilities for the required upgrades, which could lead to disputes being raised to the Canadian Transportation Agency for settlement and contribute to implementation delays. In addition to timing issues, TC has determined that the scope of application of the Regulations is too broad and, therefore, needs adjustment. Based on a comprehensive analysis of risk data covering the past seven years, TC has identified common characteristics in grade crossings that present a very low risk for serious accidents. From the data available to TC, 3 420 grade crossings currently subject to the upgrade requirements set out in the Regulations could be exempted based on these low-risk characteristics, as it is expected that upgrades would only yield minimal safety benefits.
The proposed amendments would revise the scope of application of the Regulations by setting requirements for grade crossings according to a risk-based model. Under this model, existing crossings considered to be low risk would be exempted from upgrade requirements. The proposed amendments would also extend the compliance deadline for upgrade requirements by one year (until November 28, 2022) for crossings considered to be high priority, and three years (until November 28, 2024) for all other crossings (i.e. crossings that do not meet the threshold criteria for low-risk or high priority).