Municipality near Brockville, Ont. receives request to silence train whistles at rural crossings

The sound of blaring train whistles in a rural community north of Brockville is not uncommon, but at least one resident would like them eliminated, and has sent a request to the local council to initiate the process.

For Coulter Argue and his family, the sight and sounds of VIA Rail passenger trains whizzing by are something they are used to.

"We moved here two years ago and we knew full well there was a train here and the trains would be blasting their horn," Argue told CTV News Ottawa. "We heard it before we moved in and we're OK with it."

But another resident in Elizabethtown-Kitley Township doesn't feel the same, and says those train whistles are annoying, and should be silenced.

An email sent to council in August asks the municipality to eliminate the whistles at Jellyby, Rocksprings, Island and Yule roads crossings north of Brockville.

It goes on to state, "All of these areas have new residents coming in, some of which are much closer to the rail crossing than we are, and we find it quite disturbing ourselves."

A look at the rail crossings in Elizabethtown-Kitley Township.

Argue, however, says a train horn is hard to miss when planning a move to a rural area.

"I mean, it's kind of funny, they should have known as well," he said. "But again, I do sympathize with them. It is loud."

He says the daytime whistles do not bother him, but would like to see them changed at night for the sake of his one-year-old daughter.

"Sometimes it wakes her up out of her sleep, crying," he added. "It would be nice if they could decrease the volume."

While council is considering the request, Coun. Earl Brayton spoke up about the issues at the Sept. 12 meeting, saying the whistles are needed.

"As far as I'm concerned, train whistles are necessary. They've been there for years," Brayton said in an interview.

He lost a friend of the family in a train accident and says those horns are there for safety.

"I've always taken the common sense approach and I think this is common sense unless somebody can prove to me it's different," he said. 

The Rocksprings Road rail crossing in Elizabethtown-Kitley Township. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

On average, six VIA Rail passenger trains use the line daily between Ottawa and Brockville, with freight traffic occurring overnight. 

While the Canadian Rail Operating Rules require trains to whistle at public grade crossings, municipalities can go through the process of silencing them.

"I don't agree with it and I will vote to keep the whistles until someone can convince me differently," Brayton said. "The whistles were put on a train for a reason, a safety reason, as I stated on Monday night."

"I don't think they should cancel the horn completely, but they should think about turning it down," added Argue, who noted the crossing near his home could have an added layer of protection.

"You can still zig-zag between them and you can get through," he said. "Instead of two guards that you can pass around, they need to put four guards if they really want to make these safe, and think about turning it down with the whistle."

Connor Argue and his family watch as a southbound VIA Rail train passes through Elizabethtown-Kitley Township. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Another request to silence the whistles was initiated in the township back in 2019, but was not approved.

This new request has been forwarded along to the Crown Corporation to see if it's feasible, but the township says it has not yet received a response.