5 May 2009
N.D.G. Couple Take On Train Noise
"We are not fighting against commuter trains but fighting
for better, more modern
equipment that respects the needs of commuters, city dwellers, and the
environment", says Antoon Groenestein.
Montreal Quebec - Glasses rattle in the cupboards,
the floor rumbles, windows stay closed, even in the summer heat.
For nine years, Antoon Groenestein and Robyn Wiltshire have complained about noise and vibration from the rising number of commuter
trains on Canadian Pacific tracks that sit 30 metres from their home at Melrose Ave. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. in Notre Dame de Grace.
"The old locomotives, some dating from the 1950s, often are at full throttle, and make an incredible noise," Groenestein
said.
Then there's the constant clickety-clack of trains going over track joints, from 6:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.
Within the next two weeks, the couple's battle comes to a head with a decision from the Canadian Transportation Agency - the first
involving commuter trains since Ottawa gave the agency the power to deal with noise and vibration complaints in 2007.
The CTA, an independent federal administrative tribunal that operates like a court, can order a railway to modify its operations.
The ruling could have implications across Canada, with individuals' right to peace and quiet expected to increasingly clash with the
growing communal desire to transport people using means less polluting than cars.
"I know Vancouver and Toronto (train agencies) are also keeping a eye on this case because it will be jurisprudence," Joel
Gauthier, president of the Agence metropolitaine de transport, which runs Montreal's commuter trains, said in an interview.
The AMT and CP are contesting the complaint, noting the tracks have been in use since 1888.
They say they do everything reasonably possible to minimize noise, including regular maintenance.
But Groenestein, who collected 250 signatures from neighbours on a supporting petition, said the situation has deteriorated because of
aging trains and tracks, and will worsen if expansions go ahead.
The AMT, whose Dorion, Blainville, and Delson lines use the tracks, wants to increase service, and a frequent airport shuttle in the
works may run on the tracks.
There were about 20 trains per weekday in 2000, when Groenestein bought his house, he said.
The AMT says it was actually 35 trains, including empty ones.
The tracks now carry 76 trains.
In 1930, they were used by 125 trains daily, the AMT says.
"We are not fighting against commuter trains but fighting for better, more modern equipment that respects the needs of commuters,
city dwellers, and the environment," Groenestein said.
He said the tracks could be electrified, which would allow trains to be pulled by quieter electric locomotives, an option the AMT now
says it is considering.
The AMT and CP could also modernize tracks to cut noise, he said.
On Tuesday, Gauthier said more work is planned near Groenestein's home this year, including welding joints, changing ballast,
replacing ties, and improving drainage, all of which should cut noise.
Expect more battles between transit agencies and people who live near tracks as governments expand train services, said Avrom Shtern,
of the Green Coalition, an environmental group pushing for more public transit.
In Toronto, a Clean Train Coalition was recently set up to urge that region's transit authorities to switch to
clean-running, quiet, electric trains rather than diesel ones.
Shtern said more could be done, including electrifying tracks, welding rail, building earth berms, and putting laws in place imposing
a minimum distance between new developments and railways.
The CTA has broad powers to order railways to change operations but "in cases like this, it's a balancing act," said CTA
spokesperson Marc Comeau. "We take into consideration issues people raise and on the other hand, we take into account a railway's
operational requirements."
CTA decisions are binding, with appeals to the Federal Court of Appeal.
Groenestein said he won't be able to afford an appeal, so if he loses, he'll "probably just
move."
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