Photo: Grade 4 students prepare to board the Safety Train at Wakaw / Carol Baldwin, LJI
By Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
Every year, Rail Safety Week strives to raise awareness and save lives. In Canada, 2024 recorded 261 incidents of crossing accidents and trespassing, resulting in 68 fatalities and 58 serious injuries. Trespassing and ignoring signals at crossings can have devastating consequences; a train never loses.
Rail Safety Week, which runs from September 15-19 this year, is about learning how to stay safe around railway tracks. Across Canada in this year alone, there have already been 174 incidents with 50 fatalities, and every one of them was preventable, noted Amy Lintick, Operations Manager and Programs Director with Wheatland Railway. Saskatchewan has approximately 4600 railway crossings, nearly as many as Ontario, but has the lowest incident rate in Canada.
This was part of the message shared with Wakaw’s grade four students as part of Rail Safety Week in Saskatchewan. Canadian Safety Train Express Inc. is a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting rail safety and awareness throughout Western Canada. Its mission is to educate and create awareness about railway safety and thereby reduce preventable trespassing and crossing incidents.
On Wednesday, September 17th, the Canadian Safety Train welcomed the students; MLAs Kevin Kasun (Prince Albert – Carlton), Darlene Rowden (Batoche), Kim Breckner (Saskatoon Riversdale) Shadow Minister for Trade and Export Development, and Hugh Gordon (Saskatoon Silverspring) Shadow Minister for Highways and Infrastructure; Brent Orb, Director of Transportation Programs, Ministry of Highways; Rob Storozuk, Senior Rail Engineer, Transportation Programs, Ministry of Highways; Clark Bezo, Senior Rail Engineer, Transportation Programs, Ministry of Highways; retired railway personnel; and invited media. While students learned crucial safety information in the Safety Car, the invited guests took a tour through the train before setting off for a short lunchtime trip up the tracks.
The Safety Train provides education on railway safety through instructors like Amy Lintick, along with educational and safety awareness materials, a simulation machine, and the train itself. Amy has been in the railway industry for approximately 15 years and has gradually moved into the safety aspect of the field.
Lintick explained that the Safety Train generally remains on Wheatland Railway’s tracks, but the safety team travels across Western Canada, attending various community events and visiting schools to give presentations on rail safety. A visit to the Safety Train typically includes a short trip down the tracks, allowing students to experience the size and power of the train firsthand. By being on a train, participants get a better feel for its size and power, encouraging them to take rail safety more seriously. Learning that it takes two kilometres for a loaded train to come to a complete stop is one thing, but feeling the train slow down and prepare to stop well before the platform comes into view truly emphasizes this point.
The Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, issued the following statement in recognition of Rail Safety Week 2025 in Canada:
Canada’s railways have helped to connect communities and families for generations. Railways are part of our history and part of our present-day lives. Many Canadians live near a railway track.
Every year, Operation Lifesaver Canada leads important awareness efforts around Rail Safety Week to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries that continue to happen far too often along Canada’s rail system.
Other organizations, including Canadian Safety Train Express and railways themselves, also conduct valuable outreach and awareness work throughout the year.
…Canada has one of the safest rail networks in the world, but it’s important to be vigilant around trains and tracks. Canadians can help advance rail safety in their own communities by paying careful attention at crossings or near railway tracks.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I thank everybody across Canada who makes rail safety a priority, and I encourage all Canadians to always keep safety in mind.”
“Rail safety isn’t just about big moments; it’s about the small safe choices we make every day,” commented Shawn Will, Chief of Police and Chief Security Officer for CN, for Rail Safety Week. “Each time you respect the signs and signals around tracks and railway property, you’re helping to keep your community stronger and safer. Rail safety is a shared responsibility, and together we all play a role in protecting lives.”
The Wheatland Express’s Safety Car was one of the first cars developed by Wheatland Rail and has been teaching railway safety for approximately eight years. The safety message was initially focused on youth and raising their awareness of railway safety. While continuing to bring that message to young people, the Safety Train team has branched out and is sharing the message with new drivers and professional drivers.
The Safety Train team track data regarding incidents relating to railway safety, and when a trend is identified, they work to find ways to address it. For example, they have partnered with the Saskatchewan Trucking Association in a few events to bring the safety message to that cohort of professional drivers. The goal of any safety message is to get target audiences excited about safety and to promote what they learn and experience, thus reducing the number of, in this case, railway-related incidents and accidents.
Wheatland Express CEO, Perry Pellerin, officially opened the Hall of Fame room in the Wheatland Express Station and Museum in Wakaw on the 17th, inviting one of the retired railway personnel present to cut the red ribbon. Once fully completed, the room will feature recordings of the Hall of Fame inductees telling their stories of their lives working with the railway. Each year, new Hall of Fame inductees are selected, and for the next year, their picture and nomination story are featured on the train, before joining previous inductees in the museum’s Hall of Fame.
In an alcove off the Hall of Fame sits a simulator, identical to that used to train new locomotive engineers. Older youth, those beyond the lure of “Spike the Safety Dog,” will be able to take a seat in the simulator and feel what it would be like to control a train and experience the differences in how a train is controlled versus that of an automobile. It has all the sounds of the locomotive, right down to the air exhausting as the train begins to come to a stop. It is also capable of simulating an accident where someone is run over, minus any gory visuals. “You can kind of see all of a sudden,” Pellerin said, “they get it…this is serious stuff.”
Pellerin also shared that they are working on a device where participants will put on earphones and are told to push a button when they hear the train. In their testing, they are finding that by the time people push the button, they would already be dead if it were a real-life situation. People fail to realize how quiet a large train is, and if they trespass in a railyard, they could find themselves in real danger.
Some safety reminders include:
Never walk, jog, or bike on railroad tracks, bridges, or through tunnels. Do not attempt to cross under or climb over a stopped train. Remember that railroad tracks, trestles, yards, and equipment are private property, and trains, tracks, and railroad yards are not playgrounds. Trespassing on these areas is illegal. You could face serious consequences, including severe injury or loss of life, fines, or arrest.
Never jump on or off a train while it’s moving.
Trains are faster and quieter than one thinks. Always assume a train is coming—on any track, at any time. Look both ways, never cross while signals are active, and never try to beat a train.
See tracks? Think trains.