Residents rail against CN yard noise

Written by The Montreal Gazette Thursday, 21 May 2025 02:40

MONTREAL - A group of Point St. Charles residents is gearing up for battle against Canadian National Railway, complaining that noise from trains in a neighbourhood rail yard has worsened in recent years, the Montreal Gazette reports.

"They could do more to reduce the noise," such as build sound barriers, plant trees and move loud, late-night work away from people's homes, said Denis Boudreau, who lives 150 metres from the edge of the yard.

He said loud bangs and prolonged noise punctuate the neighbourhood, sometimes late into the night, as workers in the yard attach and detach train cars.

The area has been a train route since the 1800s.

"We aren't against trains, we know they've been here for a long time, and we're not saying CN should leave" but the company should be sensitive to neighbours, he said.

For years, residents have complained to CN, to no avail, he added. Now, they've set up a new committee - Nous et les Trains - to persuade CN to change its ways or face a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency.

The committee, which held a meeting last night to rally support, collected 200 names on a petition and has a website, www.nousetlestrains.org, where a camera provides live video of CN tracks. The committee is keeping train audio and video as evidence.

CN sold its historic maintenance shops in the Point in 2005, but kept the rail yard because it plays a vital role in the company's operations, said spokesperson Julie Senécal.

"It's on our mainline, linking eastern and western Canada," she said.

"It's where we switch cars to build trains that service local customers."

CN has "made no operational changes in recent times that would increase noise or other nuisance issues affecting nearby residents," she said. CN "is prepared to discuss the issue but it must be understood that CN must protect its ability to efficiently and economically meet its customers' needs."

Yesterday, the Canadian Transportation Agency was supposed to hand down its decision on another Montreal rail-noise complaint, this one about commuter trains on Canadian Pacific tracks in Notre Dame de Grâce.

But its ruling was postponed after the Canadian Transportation Agency sent a letter last week ordering CP to supply data the railway previously declined to provide, said CTA spokesperson Marc Comeau. The CTA wants information about the age and condition of CP tracks in the area, and maintenance and inspection reports.

The N.D.G. case could have implications across Canada, as it is the first case involving commuter trains since Ottawa gave the CTA the power to deal with noise and vibration complaints in 2007.

The CTA, an independent federal administrative tribunal that operates like a court, can order a railway to modify its operations.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 May 2025 22:54 )

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