Family sues CP for train fatality
The family of Valentine Dufresne, killed by a train in March as she made an illegal crossing at a well‑known spot between the Plateau and Rosemont, are suing Canadian Pacific, the city and the federal government for $850,000 on the premise that the crossing is dangerous and not enough has been done to block it.
But it’s well known that every time CP puts up more fencing, someone comes along and cuts holes – and, well, she was taking a chance by crossing illegally. Sad, but FAFO, as they say.
MarcG 11:14 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
The solution isn’t to block it it’s to find a way to make it safe to cross near there since there’s obviously a need.
Kate 11:47 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
I could not agree more.
bob 11:56 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
They could also make the trains more visible and audible, but that would probably entail noise complaints. And people get killed at level crossings despite all the lights and bells and gates. Sometimes there’s little to be done.
Ian 12:33 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
While people do get killed at level crossings, thousands use them without incident every year.
Nobody is asking that we get rid of trains, just to put in level crossings so that people don’t invent ways to cross unsafely.
You might as well argue that since trucks sometimes hit pedestrians despite the presence of crossing lights the solution is not to have crossing lights.
steph 13:11 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
I’ve seen gated level crossings with a gate, operable by calling a number for safety. https://tinyurl.com/3s6bk6u5
Kate 13:51 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
People manage to cross tracks safely in Jarry Park and at Cremazie and Querbes even though Exo trains go faster than the freight trains at the unofficial crossing described in the original post.
It puzzles me how anyone can not see and feel a freight train coming at that unofficial crossing point, but it has happened more than once.
Blork 14:08 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
Steph, I’ve seen those crossings along Boul de Fort-St-Louis in Boucherville but I didn’t know that’s how they worked. Good to know.
I also don’t understand how people can not see or hear a train coming but it happens A LOT as I’ve said here several times before. It’s weird but it happens, and it happens more than you’d think.
Nicholas 14:19 on 2026-06-11 Permalink
steph, that’s a neat crossing, though I guess it gets way fewer pedestrians and trains than a Plateau/Rosemont one would, so might not scale up well.
Overall, the longest distance to a crossing between these boroughs is from around Mount Royal Ave, about 250 m, a bit more than this one. That is annoying, but it’s not that far compared to other highway and rail line crossings elsewhere in the city. It is certainly annoying to use the tunnels, but they do exist, no one has to invent unsafe crossings. There are lots of areas with industrial land you can’t cross through, should they have to allow a public crossing too? If someone just trespasses anyway and falls down a hole and dies can the family sue?
I’m all in favour of more crossings, but level crossings with rail lines are only slightly better than level crossings with highways. The reason rail lines are so safe is because there aren’t a ton of level crossings. If the city wants to pay for pedestrian tunnels you don’t have to drop down much that’s fine by me, but they don’t want to either.
It’s a shame this woman died, but if this lawsuit succeeded then it would cost railways or municipalities billions of dollars building crossings every 50 m or whatever the court suggests is necessary. In France, where this victim and her family are from, they should know all about trains and not crossing the tracks, but what they may not know is that unlike France, courts here regularly award the winning party costs and lawyers’ fees, payable by the losing party, and they are likely to have to pay up for this frivolous lawsuit.