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Letter: Singing the train horn blues in New Westminster

Whistle cessation worked in Quayside. Shouldn't it be Sapperton's turn?
trainrollsthroughsappertonnewwest
A train rolls past the Brewery District in Sapperton. This letter writer says it's time for New West to set up another railway committee to deal with train horn noise — this time in Sapperton.

Editor:

In the past there have been many unanswered questions about train horns from the Fraser River bridge along the Brunette corridor to Sapperton junction. A few years ago, New West council had a transportation group for railroad companies and myself as a volunteer. We had eight meetings, and the result was we silenced the horns at Begbie crossing.

Since then the building of highrises in Sapperton requires the railways to do the same. The railways claim they were there first. The residents say "not in my backyard." The standoff requires another railway committee called for by the New West council.  This time it will be different because we're dealing with three Class 1 railways and passenger trains from Amtrak and VIA.

It is going to be a fight about noise pollution causing the public in general a health crisis by getting woken up at all hours of the night. This time, and the most important one, there are the four major derailments in a week in the U.S. The railways told the federal Transportation Board loader horns make longer trains safer. It seems the railways were dead wrong; load horns annoy the public but do little for safety on the rails.

We need silent railway crossings in Sapperton for continuity in New Westminster.

Bryan Vogler

📢 SOUND OFF: Are you bothered by train noise in Sapperton? What would you like to see done about it? Share your thoughts — send us a letter.