The railroad crossing in Montreal West is once again under the spotlight as residents and others complain that pedestrians in a hurry to make their train are racing across the tracks with trains coming, often in defiance of barriers that are set up near the station.
“It’s been happening for a long time,” said Lauren Head, a commuter on the RTM rail system.
There have also reportedly been issues at stations at Terrasse-Vaudreuil-Pincourt and Île-Perrot, which are located in the Montérégie.
READ MORE: Île-Perrot mother and daughter narrowly escape car slammed by train
Exo spokesperson Catherine Maurice told Global News the company managing the RTM is conducting a safety study on the Île-Perrot station after a woman and her daughter got out of their car before a freight train crushed it.
“We monitor closely the situation down there,” said Maurice.
“And we’re doing a safety inquiry at the moment and we need to conclude that before we take any action.”
Montreal West Mayor Beny Masella has been calling for an underpass in an effort to improve the situation in his town.
The issue is acute enough that Royal West Academy nearby holds regular seminars from Exo officials to explain rail safety to their students. Many of the high school’s students use commuter trains to get to school.
“I see sometimes when people are walking across the tracks and they just keep walking and the lights and the ringing starts,” said Isabel Ouimet. “They just walk across the tracks to make it to the other side in time depending on where they’re going.”
Exo told Global News there have been no serious accidents at the station in the last few years.
There are security and police officers stationed at the Montreal West station in an effort to keep pedestrians from running under or through the barriers.
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