Essex Terminal Railway says train whistles below government maximums, but won't release 3rd-party report

The president of a rail company at the centre of neighbourhood noise complaints in Windsor, Ont.,says that an independent report shows the company is following federal noise regulations.

The report, prepared by a third-party group for Essex Terminal Railway (ETR) at the request of Windsor's city council, is not being made public, a move that's irked some people leading the push for solutions to the loud train whistles.

John West lives in South Walkerville and says that the whistleswhich are used to warn people as trains pass through rail crossings without protective safety devicesthat are level with city streetskeep him and his son up at night.

"It's a matter of health, of not getting restorative sleep, having difficulty with memory, having difficulty functioning," said West, who has lived in his home for 17 years and said thefrequency of whistle noises increased within the last two years.

West said that the decision by ETR to keep a report into the decibel level of the train whistles secret is outrageousand that there are no regulations or guidelines that prevent the rail company from releasing the full report.

Whistles too quiet at times, says ETR president

Windsor city council first asked for the report on the whistlesin April.

"There's a decibel range for whistles on trainsand we regularly test our whistles," said ETR president Tony De Thomasis.

"In many cases noise studies, any of that information is typically confidential and proprietary information and many companies don't release that."

De Thomasis wrote in an e-mail tocity administration that "ETR is compliant within the minimum/maximum decibels level readings for level crossings."

He told CBC News that in some cases, the readings were below the mandated range, whichthe company is looking into.

He added that the whistles have not gotten louder but more frequent because of increased business for the company leading to additional train crossings.

Councillor says options to eliminate whistles expensive

The report was requested by city councilafter a meeting where administration presented potential solutions to the noise complaints.

One solutionincludes upgrading the infrastructure around the crossings to allow for the city to ask ETR and Transport Canada to limit train whistle noises, which are required under legislation at street-level crossings.

Those upgrades would cost millions of dollars across multiple crossings, which Ward 4 councillor Mark McKenzie said thecity can't afford to do.

"You're trying to find that money, but the municipality doesn't have a lot of money," said McKenzie.

Adding rail warning systems, which include flashing lights, bells and gates, could cost $3 million.

McKenzie said if ETR wants to be good neighbours, which De Thomasis saysit aspires to be, than the company should pay for the upgrades.

"If they're seeing an increase in business, it means that they're seeing an increase in profits and maybe they can step up then and you know, and maybe they don't have to pay for all of it, but at least start, you know, maybe we can split the cost or something."

"We've looked at cost for that and it's just not feasible for us," said De Thomasis.

He said that ETR has made adjustments to its operations following neighbourhood complaints.

"We are making every effort to be a good neighbour, but unfortunately we do have responsibilities to provide customers on our line with the support and the switching."

Threat of legal action if report not made public

McKenzie also said that he was frustrated that the report was not being made public.

"ETR is saying 'No, we're compliant with the minimum maximum decibel level readings for the level crossings. Just trust us on that, but they don't want to supply the report to prove that.' So that's that's very disappointing and and a bit discouraging," said McKenzie.

West, whose son wholives with him has been tracking the noisiest crossings daily for the last two years, believes there is no regulation or restrictions in place that prevents the company from releasing the report.

He plans to attend a public meeting of the city's transportation committee on Wednesday to ask for the report and if it is not made public will take legal action.

"I will take the necessary legal action to force Essex Terminal Rail to provide the documentation that they claim shows they'rein compliance."