Hespeler Road in Cambridge Ontario.

26 April 2011

No Co-operation

Kitchener Ontario - Re:  Cambridge Needs a New Rail Bridge - 15 Apr 2011
 
I would agree that under the present circumstances a grade separation is needed. That said, if the Canadian Pacific Railway had upgraded track and crossing circuits at Hespeler Road and changed operating procedures as promised to the municipality, the bridge may not have been needed for some time.
 
Also, after the bridge is completed, nothing will have changed at Concession Street. It will continue to be blocked by slow moving trains, which may also be switching back and forth, further delaying traffic.
 
The real issue here is the unwillingness of Canadian Pacific to shift its operation to the new yard west of Ayr and improve track circuits through Cambridge. This same issue prevails at many crossings throughout the country, slow moving trains subject to maintenance deferred slow track, where motorists and occasionally emergency vehicles are blocked.
 
Get used to waiting. The railways in Canada are substantially increasing train length too, and there will never be a bridge at all crossings.
 
Ron Bowman.