TORONTO -- Metrolinx is warning the public not to risk their lives by crossing GO train tracks following an increase in close calls reported this summer.
“Since March, we have had a huge increase in the number of safety-related incidents on our tracks, whether it’s selfies, jumping into water off bridges or just taking risks,” Metrolinx Spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins told CP24.
One particular rail bridge over the Mississauga River is attracting a lot of attention from people, Aikins said without revealing its exact location.
To date, GO Transit Special Constables attended this particular location more than 40 times for reports of people jumping off the bridge into the shallow water, according to a blog post issued by the transit agency on Tuesday.
Metrolinx officers have warned at least 100 people at this bridge about the dangers of crossing the tracks and they have laid about 15 charges.
Aikins said it’s “deeply concerning’’ how people are risking their lives for a thrill or to take a quick picture for social media.
“They really think they can beat a train, they think they’ll see it, they’ll hear it, they’ll feel it and they’ll know it’s coming and they’ll have lots of time and that’s just not the truth,” Aikins said.
Aikins said it’s not only young people who are caught crossing the tracks but adults and families as well.
Last weekend, a couple and their two children were seen crossing the tracks in Niagara Falls and were nearly missed by the oncoming trains, Aikins said.
“We do not want to go and have to tell your family someday, delivering the worst news of their lives, because you took a risk,” she said.
Other recent close calls were caught on video, including two weeks ago when two young women were spotted lying across the rail tracks at Lisgar GO station in Mississauga to take pictures.
Another video recorded last week shows a young man hopping onto the track at Bloor GO Station in an effort to catch a train. The move could have been deadly if the train reversed to realign with the platform, Metrolinx said in its press release.
Operation Lifesaver is a national organization created to educate Canadians about the dangers of trespassing on rail corridors.
The group said there have been more than 100 serious incidents on federally regulated railways so far this year, 34 of those have been fatal. Eleven of those happened in Ontario and were specifically related to people trespassing on tracks.
Fines for crossing the tracks range from $100 to $5,000.
Metrolinx is encouraging the public to call the 24-hour Go Transit safety dispatch number at 1-877-297-0642 if they witness people near any train tracks.
