The people have been heard.
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said CN Rail has agreed to immediately cease all overnight work in Guelph until it can install workers to ensure safety at crossings, negating the need to sound the train horns in the early hours of the morning that have been causing huge issues for area residents.
Guthrie was notified early Tuesday afternoon in a phone call with CN Rail.
“They have agreed that they are not going to be blasting their horns at any time between midnight and 6 a.m.,” Guthrie said in a video on Twitter. “They are going to stop that as of today.
“This is not a full-out win, but it is a big win,” the mayor said.
He said it is a temporary measure until a permanent solution can be found.
Early Tuesday about 15 area residents stood on the tracks to block a train’s path before police were called and the residents were moved to the safety of the sidewalk.
People living along the CN rail corridor between Willow Road and Edinburgh Road South have been bothered by the noise of trains in recent weeks as needed repair work is done during the cooler night.
Hundreds of phone calls and emails have been directed at CN rail and Guelph’s mayor, MPP and MP have all been in contact with the rail company the last couple of days.
CN Rail sent out the following email to media Tuesday afternoon.
"CN apologizes to residents of the City of Guelph for the inconveniences and frustrations caused by recent changes in its operations. CN had to modify its operational schedule during summer months until the work to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of the current rail infrastructure that CN inherited when taking over operations in late 2018 is completed.
As a result of the feedback from the community received, CN will be taking immediate action to mitigate the impact on local residents. Effective immediately, CN will provide manual safety measures at crossings while operations continue during evening hours. This will stop the need to use whistles during the night. This measure will be in place until new operating hours can be implemented.
As soon as it is possible, CN will implement new summer operating hours. Once in place, the new operational schedule will only use train whistles at more appropriate hours."
