Transport Canada list of 500 'highest risk' railway crossings has 3 in Calgary

Three railway crossings in Calgary are on a Transport Canada list of the 500 highest risk crossings in the country, according to documents obtained by CBC News.

However, each of the crossings has only been the site of one accident since 2001, the list indicates.

The list from 2014 was generated by special software designed to predict potential accident "hot spots" informationnot often shared with the public or local communities.

The three Calgary crossings onthe list are:

• No. 106:Glenmore Trail near Shepard Road S.E. operated by Canadian Pacific Railway.
• No. 216:52nd Street and 52nd Avenue S.E. operated by Canadian National.
• No. 500:84th Street and Rochon Avenue S.E. operated by Canadian Pacfiic Railway.

A crossing operated by Canadian Pacificin Fort Macleod, Alta. near the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 3 is also on the list,in 89th place. It has been the scene of one injury accident since 2001, the list says.

Transport Canada says it relies on asoftware system calledGradeX on a daily basis. It was developed by civil engineers at the University of Waterloo.

List meant to help prioritizeupgrades

Professor emeritus Frank Saccomanno says the system was designed as a decision-support tool to help Transport Canada and its inspectors on the ground prioritize which crossings need fixing and to measure the effectiveness of upgrades.

The system uses historical accident data as well as measurements of train speeds, traffic volumes and sight lines at crossings to calculate potential risks.

CBC News contacted numerous municipalities acrossCanada including Winnipeg, Edmonton,Calgary and Ottawa andfound most had never heard of GradeX or the list of top 500 "hot spots" let alone been told by Transport Canada about all the particular crossings identified within their communities.

The city of Spruce Grove west of Edmonton has two rail crossings in the top 10 but has never been warned they were labelled "highest risk,"according to city spokeswomanJennifer Heatherington.

"CN was there last year doing some repairs," Heatherington told CBC News. She says each year city officials meet with Transport Canada but says the fire chief, and local engineering and public works departments were never notified the crossings were flagged as being in the top ten in the country.