The federal government has approved amendments to the railway Grade Crossings Regulations (GCR), extending the compliance deadlines and providing some relief for specific scenarios.
The compliance timelines have been modified to prioritize grade crossings by levels of risk: November 28, 2022 for high-priority grade crossings; and November 28, 2024 for all other grade crossings.
Transport Canada has updated its website to provide additional information on the amendments.
Questions about the Grade Crossings Regulations may be addressed to Transport Canada or by calling 1-844-897-RAIL.
Background
The BC provincial government had announced earlier this year that it would extend the compliance deadline to January 1, 2028 for local governments and rail companies to bring existing grade crossings of provincial railways into compliance.
A public grade crossing consists of railway tracks that intersect with a road that is owned, open, and maintained by a public authority like a province, local government or band council, and is used by the public.
Transport Canada administers the Rail Safety Improvement Program (RSIP), which provides grant funding to road authorities or railway companies to improve railway grade crossings to meet GCR requirements. They have made available data sets in the form of a grade crossings map and inventory, to assist local governments to determine the regulatory status of grade crossings in their jurisdiction.