Police in Belleville investigating possible rail tampering incident

Belleville police are investigating after two people were allegedly caught on camera tampering with a railway crossing.

A video posted to social media appears to show two people walking onto the railway crossing at Geddes Street before bending down and doing something to the tracks.

The alleged incident happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday; there were problems with the track shortly after.

“The arms (traffic barricades) had been down for quite some time, and nothing was coming through,” said Jim Brownlee, a nearby resident.

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Brownlee said he later saw more people come to the area.

“A CN van pulled up; looked like some sort of utility guy or electrician,” he added. “He was mulling around and looked like he was trying to work on something.”

After a short time, the issue was repaired, but the suspects in the video are still unknown.

Staff Sgt. Al Portt with Belleville police says this is a very serious offence, and officers are now working with the CN Police Service.

“This is an act of vandalism, whereas somebody was tampering with the rail,” says Portt.

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Portt says that the alleged tampering led to no further incident in this case but that the act of tampering with a railway crossing could put lives at risk.

The video has since been taken down due to copyright ownership, however police are working with the owner of the video to try and identify the people in the clip.

CN Rail also confirms that it is looking into an incident that happened on the track in Belleville but is not releasing any information at this time. The company does, however, want to remind people that trespassing on railway property is an offence and a dangerous act.

Anyone who has information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact Belleville police.