VIA Rail says OC Transpo drivers are to blame for the failure of two recent VIA Rail crossing devices. In a news release issued Tuesday afternoon, VIA said the drivers failed to stop at the stop line on the evening of Friday, April 25th and again on April 28th . VIA says the lights were flashing at Fallowfield Road, indicating a train was approaching.  Despite that, VIA maintains, that on Monday, a bus stopped beyond the stop line and under the gate as the gate was being lowered. 

“The damage caused to the gate prevented it from remaining upright thus, triggering the fail-safe mode and extending the period during which it remained in effect with lights flashing and bells ringing,” says the release.  VIA says that triggered the “fail-safe mode since the gates could not return to their upright position. The fail-safe mode ensured that both road and train traffic crossed the area safely.”  VIA says it took about 30 minutes to fix the gates.

In light of these two occurrences, VIA Rail interim Chief Executive Officer, Steve Del Bosco, has written to the Mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, and to the General Manager of OC Transpo, John Manconi and “asked that the City investigate these incidents and take appropriate measures to avoid their re-occurrence.”

The crossings have been plagued with problems over the last few months.  VIA Rail ordered crews to be stationed at the crossings around the clock to monitor any malfunctions.  That happened after Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson called on the train company to fix the faulty railway crossings.  Councillor Jan Harder and local MP John Baird have also been urging VIA to act on the problems.  The Fallowfield crossing in Barrhaven was the scene last year of a deadly collision between an OC Transpo double-decker bus and a VIA Rail train that killed 6 people and injured many more. 

After at least 8 malfunctions in the last few months, VIA Rail requested the help of Ottawa Police, saying it had “strong suspicions” and “valid grounds” to warrant an investigation into whether someone was tampering with the crossings.  The investigation found no evidence of criminal mischief.