Headlight dimmed when VIA train killed three teens

A VIA rail train that killed three teenagers this fall had its principle headlight dimmed. On October 31, 2010, five Montreal teenagers were walking along the tracks beneath the Turcot interchange when three of them were struck and killed. The teenagers were walking away from the oncoming train and neither saw nor heard it.

It is normal procedure for trains to dim their lights when approaching highways with oncoming traffic, but this information regarding the teenagers’ death has only recently surfaced. The driver did not see the teens on the tracks until seconds before impact and so neither the whistle or bell were sounded to alert them.

The area where the teens were killed is known as a hangout for youth to walk on the tracks and spraypaint the concrete pillars under the highway. The mother of one of the surviving teenagers is petitioning for a change in the Railway Safety Act. The amendment would call for the Federal Government to appoint a Royal Commission into Railway Safety. This would lessen the number of railway accidents—especially fatal ones.