A CN Rail spokesperson tells Kamloops councillors she is unaware of a years-long concern in Rayleigh of trains blocking both crossings.
Mayor Ken Christian says that neighborhood becomes isolated when both crossings are blocked, at Puett Ranch Road and Mattoch-McKeague Road.
He wondered if there is a solution.
“Some residents tell me it’s a function of train length and additional time switching in the station yard, but I would think there would be one way or another that you could figure that out.”
The issue was most recently raised by residents at a Kamloops council meeting in December of 2018.
Speaking to councillors virutally, CN public affairs manager Lindsay Brumwell, based in Saskatoon, says this was the first she’s heard of this issue.
“Anecdotal information is a bit tricky when we’re trying to figure out managing so many trains… So I’m not trying to dismiss the residents’ concerns about blocked crossing, because I know it can be very frustrating.”
Brumwell says people in Rayleigh should call CN’s public inquiry line with their concerns.
“I was only made aware of one private crossing that was blocked, and there had been some differences in time on the data. Well actually, no data has come into our public inquiry line on those crossings in three years,” she says.
“The private crossing is at Heffley Creek. The ones I’m speaking about are in the subdivision of Rayleigh which is in the City of Kamloops on your main lines,” Christian says.
“And is it a private crossing?” Brumwell says.
“Two public crossings,” the mayor replied.
“Our goal is to keep trains moving as much as possible, and if I can start getting some details on that then we can start looking at what our options are, and get back to you… on some next steps.”
The public inquiry phone number is 1-888-888-8909, and its email is contact@cn.ca.
Several members of council evidently showed concern of Brumwell’s understanding of the Kamloops area, and invited her to come to Kamloops and see the CN Rail crossings in Rayleigh.
Brumwell then affirmed that she has visited Kamloops in the past, and plans to come back in the near future. She says non-essential staff with CN are not yet able to travel because of the pandemic.
CN Rail is one of the largest employers in Kamloops, with about 350 staff members in the region.
