What about the Mile End track crossing?
24Hres asks how to make the Mile End track crossing safer, as it’s obvious people will continue to use the unofficial crossings no matter what – despite two deaths on the tracks in recent memory.
The obvious answer is an official level crossing under the Van Horne viaduct, as we’ve known for years, but which CP has always refused to accept.
Joey 13:53 on 2026-04-10 Permalink
Too bad the Liberal MP for Outremont didn’t have to explain why (apparently) her party voted against legislation that would allow Ottawa to create level crossings. My impression of the CP trains that use that track is that they are very big and very slow – I wonder whether how frequently a level crossing there would be closed due to train traffic.
bob 14:31 on 2026-04-10 Permalink
IIRC historically the most dangerous place in Montreal with respect to being killed by a train is the level crossing on Courcelle in St. Henri, despite the level crossing with the bells and the lights and the train horns and the two hundred meter visibility west and nine hundred east. The VIA trains go by at a jog, but the freight trains go by at a walking pace and back up traffic somewhat (though there is far less traffic than in Mile End).
It seems to me that not being hit by a train is one of life’s more achievable accomplishments. One way I have attained this achievement so far has been to not cross the tracks when there is a train going by. I feel this lifestyle choice has been for the best.
Kate 15:40 on 2026-04-10 Permalink
But trains just get hungrier if they don’t receive an occasional sacrifice.
jeather 16:01 on 2026-04-10 Permalink
I wonder if it’s the length of time? I don’t know how long the trains are when they pass in mile end but in St Henri if you’ve got a freight train you can be waiting a really long time.
Nicholas 16:31 on 2026-04-10 Permalink
I’ve very much a proponent of designing our systems around what people do, not what we want them to do. We can’t expect people not to cross mid block, so we should not let people drive at speeds on local streets such that death is likely to result from a mid block crossing.
But there are limits. We do not let people cross highways. We do not let them cross runways. And people shouldn’t cross train tracks except at approved crossings.
The solution, though, to a huge demand for crossing between official crossings is to increase the supply of crossings. If you build a giant road underpass for cars and everyone else that’ll cost tens of millions and take years. Here is a video of the Dutch installing a curved pre-built underpass for pedestrians and bikes under half of a six-lane highway in a weekend. Because it’s not for cars it’s much shallower, so faster and cheaper. Build a bunch of these halfway in between the current crossings and the problem will disappear.
Ephraim 08:47 on 2026-04-11 Permalink
I assume that being land that is for profit, that the city charges them a tax? Could we not get Quebec to change the tax rates? And give a lower rate if there is a way to safely cross within x metres? And a much lower rate if there is an underpass or overpass?
bob 10:45 on 2026-04-11 Permalink
@Nicholas – And why, pray, would that two day job take eighteen months in Montreal? What could possibly lead to a two day job that should cost $1 million going for month after month, no workers present, costing $1 million, per month? Are we stupid here? Do we not know how to dig holes and pour concrete?
If corruption were removed from Quebec’s economy, our GDP per capita would be third world.
DisgruntledGoat 19:11 on 2026-04-11 Permalink
They just put in a level crossing on the same tracks between Outremont and Parc Ex just east of the MIL Campus with little fanfare. Took a year since the announcement.
It’s wonderful to have and I don’t understand why it’d be difficult to do another.
MarcG 07:52 on 2026-04-12 Permalink
Here’s the crossing DisgruntledGoat is referring to (the news article I found didn’t mention the precise location, maybe I’ll save someone else the trouble looking for it on a map).