Former conductor issues warning after fatal Bowness train crash – Calgary

A former train conductor is sending his condolences to the family of a 17-year-old who died earlier this week when he was struck by a train in northwest Calgary.

Calgary police said the incident occurred Tuesday afternoon on a railroad track east of 85th Street Northwest near a bridge in the northwest community of Bowness.

The teenager, a student at Bowness High School, was taken to hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries.

Lou Schillaci, a former train conductor who worked for the railroad for decades, urges people to stay away from railroad tracks.

He said that when a conductor sees someone on the tracks, he often doesn’t have enough time to stop.

“A normal-sized train of 90 to 120 cars traveling 55 miles per hour will take over a mile to stop once it has applied an emergency brake,” he said.

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A Calgary teenager who was fatally hit by a train was about to graduate

Schillaci expressed his condolences to the teenager’s family and said such incidents can leave a lasting scar on those involved, their families and train passengers.

“When you see it, when it happens, it’s just traumatic for the crew,” he said.

“I know some people who have never been able to go back after being involved in something like that.”

According to Schillaci, when a train stops, the conductor is often the first to arrive.

“This is something that will never go away. You will dream about it and have nightmares,” he said.

CPKC has put up fences and warning signs around the tracks to keep people away from the area and prevent such practices.

“Tuesday’s tragic accident on the railroad bridge remains under investigation,” Patrick Waldron, a CPKC spokesman, told Global News on Wednesday.

However, this does not stop spectators from returning to the scene of the accident.

Schillaci said people need to stay away.

“You won’t find an experienced railroad worker walking in the middle of the tracks,” he said

“We never go between these tracks.”

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