17 August 2005
Railway Security Stiffer at Border
Windsor - Motion detectors, video cameras and increased police patrols are part of a
border security crackdown being implemented by Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway on its tracks across Windsor.
It means violators walking on the city's rail property are more likely than ever to be ticketed as CP moves toward improved
security in accordance with recent agreements between the U.S. and Canadian government.
Installation of a VACIS X-ray machine on tracks about 300 metres east of Walker Road to inspect
U.S.-bound freight destined for the Detroit River rail tunnel is the highlight of the new border security rail
efforts.
Trains must travel at speeds of under 10 km/h through the scanner, which is expected to cause havoc to vehicle traffic at crossings
on Walker Road and Howard Avenue when it begins operating in late October.
It also means CP and the federal government must add cameras and motion detectors to secure the rail corridor stretching roughly
seven kilometres from the scanner location to the rail tunnel entrance near College Avenue.
"People are going to be apprehended and charged (with trespassing) under the Railway Act," said Murray Ross, director of
customs services for CP.
"Railway tracks aren't safe places to walk along to begin with. The secure corridor is to ensure when the trains come out of
VACIS they remain sterile until they enter the (rail) tunnel."
Cost of installing the scanner and securing the rail tracks leading to the tunnel will be $8 million - split equally between CP
and the federal government.
If the U.S. customs scanner detects smugglers or if a train is found to be carrying illicit drugs, it will be stopped near the
College Avenue entrance to the rail tunnel to avoid affecting local traffic.
Any other secondary inspections will be conducted in Detroit by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers, Ross said.
The railway will monitor the traffic impact in Windsor caused by the X-raying, said a CP spokesman, but is unlikely
to move more of its trains to off-hours at night.
WORK WITH CITY
"We will do everything we can to work with the city to mitigate impacts on drivers," Paul Thurston said.
"Railroads are a demand industry. There is pressure on us to keep traffic moving. We are aware of impacts on neighbours. We
will do everything we can to avoid tying crossings up unnecessarily."
Coun. Fulvio Valentinis, chairman of the city's rail issue committee, said a request was made to the federal government to delay
using the scanner until completion of the $50-million road underpass on Walker Road in early 2008.
"If the city was driving this process, we would absolutely not want VACIS until then," Valentinis said.
"That request was made by the committee, but this is being driven by the federal government and U.S. Homeland Security.
"We've been told that's absolutely not an option."
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