About 10 New Westminster residents attended the Federal Court of Appeal today to listen to arguments put forward by rail companies and the Canadian Transportation Agency.
A press release from the Quayside Community Board states that the case will decide whether or not the Canadian Transportation Agency has the authority to issue rules and guidelines for rail company operations at Quayside.
James Crosty, president of the Quayside Community Board, said lawyers for both sides presented their arguments this morning and a decision is expected to be released within three months. He's "cautiously optimistic" that the Court of Apeal will rule in the Canadian Transportation Authority's favour.
Win or lose, Crosty said the legal challenge is a win for communities, as it shows they can file a complaint and make something happen.
"We gave people hope that you can file complaints against a rail company," he said. "We have these guys in court. They are deciding whether the Canadian Transportation Authority can make a ruling."
The Quayside Community Board believes that the outcome of the case will be of enormous, nation-wide significance because other communities in Canada are impacted by rail noise.
"After being plagued for years by late night rail noise, the residents in and around the Quayside community of New Westminster are tired and fed up. Representing other New Westminster communities such as Queensborough, Downtown and Sapperton, the Quayside Community Board has spearheaded this challenge," said the press release. "They're tired of having their sleep interrupted and taking extreme measures, such as taking medications, to sleep as a result of late night railway noise and vibration from the four rail companies that operate quite literally in their backyard. "
The Quayside Community Board is frustrated by the lack of progress they've had in resolving concerns with CN Rail, CP Rail, BNSF, and Southern Railway.
As a result of a complaint filed in 2008, the Canadian Transportation Agency assisted the Quayside Community Board in reaching a mediated settlement with rail companies operating in the rail yard adjacent to the Quayside neighbourhood. The intent of that settlement was to reduce, and ultimately eliminate the unreasonable noise and vibrations being generated by nighttime operations, for the benefit of the community.
In April 2010, the Quayside Community Board filed a new noise and vibration complaint. It asked that the Canadian Transportation Agency issue an operating guide for the rail companies restricting operations in the Quayside rail yard to between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., as the railways were not following the mediated settlement.
Brian Allen, chair of the Quayside Community Board's rail noise committee, told The Record in November 2010 that the Quayside Community Board filed a new complaint because of the railways' refusal to meet the terms of the previously mediated agreement. He said the Canadian Transportation Authority then ruled in the Quayside Community Board's favour, but the railway companies then filed a notice of motion for leave to appeal the case to the federal Court of Appeal.
