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Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Stay Off the Tracks

Three young men were killed Sunday when a Via train hit them near the old Turcot yards. They were trespassing  on CN property to probably graffiti on the walls near the tracks. Of course, it's never smart to be on the tracks, especially in the dark at three in the morning. Trains can't stop suddenly. It can take more than a kilometre for a train to stop, after the driver has hit the emergency brake. But, what needs to be done to stop this from happening again? Obviously, there needs to be more awareness that getting hit by trains can hurt. Badly. Some people still think a train can stop as fast as a car. Now, instead of that car, imagine an eighteen wheeler filled with lead, speeding on a sheet of ice, trying to stop. That might put into perspective the distance needed for a train to stop. People need to be educated on this issue. I suggest representatives from CN and CP visiting schools.
Almost every night, young people jump over concrete barriers to get to the walls under the Turcot Interchange. Spray cans in hand, they stand on train tracks, painting their tags so that commuters coming through the next morning can see them.
Read more at the Montreal Gazette.

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