The City of Saint John is asking rail lines to stop train whistles from blowing at two busy crossings in the city’s east end.
Resident Justin Keddy says he hears the blaring of a train whistle all hours of the day and night and he’s sick of it.
“You know, two, three or four in the morning you’ll come out of bed, it’s infuriating, an annoyance,” says Keddy. “And you know, it’s not something you get used to. There’s no set schedule. It just makes no sense.”
Keddy’s home sits between two major railroad crossings in east Saint John. Both crossings are protected by gates, lights and bells and the trains travel at relatively low speeds.
“You’ve got lights, you’ve got gates, why do you need the whistles? Obviously people can tell there’s a train coming,” says Keddy.
He also says train whistles have become more frequent in his neighbourhood due to an increase in traffic, partly thanks to a busy port. There has also been an increase in oil trains from out west to the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John.
But Coun. Gerry Lowe says the noise is needlessly disrupting the neighbourhood.
“A lot of people have given up, they’re disappointed. People have moved out of there,” says Lowe. “Other cities have silence and I don’t know why the residents out there can’t have the same. It’s strictly up to Southern to stop it.”
The city has asked NB Southern Railway to stop the whistles at the two crossings. The rail line told CTV News that the issue is a priority and it is working with Transport Canada and other railways that use the line.
But the company hasn’t provided a date as to when the whistles might be silenced.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
