Editor:
I am writing to express my concerns about White Rock waterfront railroad.
There was a time when rail transport served the needs of its people. It no longer does that and only serves the needs of industry.
We have often sat at the picnic tables and watched the trains come and go. We see enormous pollution coming from the engines, not the coal cars, we hear the trains’ whistles that are unnecessarily deafening – a whistle that you could feel would make a steamship more serene.
But our greatest concern is not the track rails but the wheels on some of the rail cars. Some of the wheels pound the track so hard that we feel it through the picnic table. Every train that goes by has many of these pounding wheels. These are the wheels that can split and derail the train while hundreds of people walk alongside the families.
It is not the noise or the pollution that kills people. It is simply that we allow people to walk on the rails and tracks.
Anywhere there is an auto freeway there are overpasses for pedestrians to cross. People are simply not allowed to cross freeways. Cars at Crescent Beach, for example, are forewarned by flashing red lights.
It only makes sense to have a single crossing at East Beach, with bells and flashing lights as a minimum requirement.
Rail cars with pounding wheels should be reported by sensors of some kind, especially the ones that pound so hard the ground shakes.
Merlet Shukrish, White Rock
