Railways in Chilliwack

Background

Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) and Southern Railway (SRY Rail) operate two railway lines within the City of Chilliwack.

40 km of railway lines run through Chilliwack (approximately 24 km of CN and 16 km of SRY, which you can view here)
31 railway crossing locations intersect with our roadway network
Railways help reduce congestion on highways
Transportation of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods through North America each year

Railway crossings intersect roads along their route and require maintenance and repairs from time to time.

Want to learn more?
Find rail safety information here.

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Railway Grade Crossing Standards and Regulations

Railway Grade Crossing Standards and Regulations are a set of documents that detail requirements for all existing and new railway grade crossings in Canada. New standards were brought into force for railways regulated by Transport Canada in November 2014 and for railways regulated by Technical Safety BC in September 2020.

The date for compliance for all crossings is January 1, 2028. The prime directive is to improve safety at rail/road grade crossings in terms of surface condition, signage, sightlines, geometry and circuitry.

CN Rail has completed the necessary works to meet requirements. Southern Railway is currently working on completing the necessary works to be compliant.

Upcoming Works

Work will begin on the Southern Railway Crossing on Knight Road at the Valley Rail Trail in May 2025 and will be completed by this summer. Learn more about this project here.

New Railway Crossing Signals

Newly installed railway crossing flashing lights, bells and gate systems are now operational at the following three Southern Railway locations:

Yarrow Central Road east of Wilson Road
Vedder Road north of Spruce Drive
Keith Wilson Road east of Hopedale Road

Surface Crossing Repairs/Improvements

Constant vibration of vehicles and trains over the crossing surface leads to the deterioration of the ties and surface materials.

The following railway crossings and rail repairs were completed in 2024:

CN Railway

Lickman Road
Prairie Central Road
Yale Road
Annis Road

Railway Contacts

CN Railway

https://www.cn.ca/en/contact-us

For general inquiries, or if you have concerns about the condition of a crossing, please contact the CN Public Inquiry Line at [email protected] or call 1-888-888-5909.

To report emergencies, signal malfunctions, or other safety concerns, please contact CN Police at 1-800-465-9239 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Southern Railway of BC

https://www.sryraillink.com/contact/

For general inquiries, please contact Southern Railway at (604)521-1966.

To report emergencies, please contact Southern Railway at (604) 521-4821.

Developing Near Railways

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) have worked together to develop Guidelines for New Development in Proximity to Railway Operations (May 2013) which built upon an earlier version of Best Practices and Guidelines issued in 2003. They are meant to assist municipal governments, railways and developers when developing on lands in proximity to railway facilities, as well as to establish a process for making site-specific recommendations and decisions to reduce land-use incompatibilities for developments in proximity to railway operations.

For more information, see: http://proximityissue.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2013_05_29_Guidelines_NewDevelopment_E.pdf

Whistle Cessation

Railway Crossings in Chilliwack and their whistling status:

Location	Status of Train Whistling	Railway
Yale Road (Rosedale)	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
McGrath Road	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Ford Road	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Nevin Road	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Upper Prairie Road	Application in progress	CN Rail
Gibson Road	Application in progress	CN Rail
Banford Road	Application in progress	CN Rail
Prest Road	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Broadway	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Young Road	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Eagle Landing Parkway	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Lickman Road	Whistle cessation	CN Rail
Industrial Way (south of Progress Way)	Whistling	CN Rail
Industrial Way (west of Cannor Road)	Whistling	CN Rail
Hocking Avenue	Cessation application declined	Southern Rail Link
Airport Road	Cessation application declined	Southern Rail Link
Knight Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Vedder Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Spruce Drive	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Evans Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Unsworth Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
South Sumas Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Keith Wilson Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Hooge Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Yarrow Central Road/Vedder Mtn Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link
Wilson Road	Whistling	Southern Rail Link

It is important to note that there are times when a train's whistle is used as a safety measure to alert trespassers or animals on or near the rail line, regardless of the whistle cessation status.

To find information on the process of applying to stop train whistling, please see: https://tc.canada.ca/en/rail-transportation/grade-crossings/apply-stop-train-whistling-public-grade-crossing.