WHEREAS railway companies have submitted invoices to private land and business owners including agriculture producers who have a crossing along the railway line not situated on an RM road requesting that they pay a fee up front as well as an annual fee for railway companies to maintain the crossing;
WHEREAS it should not be the responsibility of private landowners to maintain the railway companies’ crossing and bear the burden of liability as a result of damage to vehicles due to the railway companies’ crossing and that responsibility and liability should fall on the railway companies;
WHEREAS private landowners will not necessarily be able to afford this annual maintenance fee or be willing to pay an annual maintenance fee and associated costs that are not economical, thereby causing railway companies to remove the railway crossing;
WHEREAS the removal of railway crossings may create the need for:
a) a rural municipality to build a new road;
b) alternatively, if there is an accessible road in existence, it will cause additional traffic on said road causing the RM additional maintenance costs as well as causing the possibility of additional traffic accidents;
c) a longer hauling distance for agriculture producers causing additional costs and time;
d) longer driving distance for local property owners and businesses; and
WHEREAS the removal of railway crossings may cause delays in emergency vehicles accessing private landowners and businesses.
BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the federal government to ensure that railway companies maintain all railway crossings without charging private land and business owners; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government make it mandatory for railway companies to reimburse any private land and business owners who may have already paid the railway companies for
crossings.