Rail Safety Improvement Program

Transport Canada’s Rail Safety Improvement Program provides federal funding in the form of grants or contributions. This year, the department will be providing more than $20 million to fund 105 projects in 2018-2019. The program’s objectives are to improve rail safety, contribute to increasing safety at grade crossings and along rail lines, and increase public confidence in Canada’s rail transportation system.

The Rail Safety Improvement Program builds on three previous rail safety programs with an increased overall funding level, an expanded list of eligible recipients and a broadened scope of projects that can be funded to enhance rail safety.

The program provides a comprehensive approach to improving the safety of rail transportation across Canada, through two key components: 1) Public Education and Awareness; and 2) Infrastructure, Technology and Research.

1. Public Education and Awareness

Transport Canada believes that more can be done to improve rail safety through outreach, education and awareness. Building on the successful results and lessons learned from existing programs such as Operation Lifesaver, Transport Canada is making funding available to eligible recipients through a ‘two-stream’ approach, including:

•  a national public information and education campaign dedicated to contributing to the reduction of railway grade crossing collisions and trespassing incidents on railway property; and
• targeted regional or municipal education and awareness initiatives to address high-risk areas. This component is also used to support research, studies and analyses that contribute to a better understanding of behaviour, attitudes and impact of rail safety issues including post-accident community trauma assessment.

This year, Transport Canada is funding two projects under the Public Education and Awareness component of the Rail Safety Improvement Program.

One will provide $400,000 in funding to the Canadian Owner-Operators’ Cooperative over two years to implement an outreach project aimed at reducing the number of deaths from accidents between commercial vehicles and trains. By targeting professional truck and bus drivers, the program aims to remind this community of the potential dangers at railway crossing grades and how to avoid them.

The second project will provide $200,000 in funding to VIA Rail Canada Inc. towards a one-year awareness project aimed at suicide prevention on the VIA Rail railways network, with a focus on high-risk and high-incidence areas identified using historical collision data from the last 10 years.

2. Infrastructure, Technology and Research

The Infrastructure, Technology and Research component has an enhanced focus on addressing the needs of communities by making more safety improvements eligible and increasing federal investment. This component focuses on supporting a wide range of eligible safety improvements, including improved lighting, upgraded rail crossing signals, pedestrian overpasses, and research into new safety technologies. Under the program, grant funding continues to be available to encourage the closure of high-risk crossings in addition to funding small-scale improvements.

This year, Transport Canada is funding 103 projects under the Infrastructure, Technology and Research component across Canada with the following provincial breakdown:

For 2018-19, approved projects total over $20 million in funding.