Wildlife mortality on the railroad. It’s a problem that Parks Canada and the Jasper Environmental Association both want to see action on, but they disagree when it comes to the speed of solving the problem.

Parks has been working with Canadian National Railways since December, 2004, to study train strikes within Jasper National Park, but plan to continue studying the issue for another 12 months before making any recommendations. The JEA, meanwhile, wants action now.

“This is ridiculous,” said JEA member Jill Seaton. “We’d like to see something done now. How many animals are we going to lose in the next two years?”

Of particular concern to Seaton and others in the organization is the speed at which VIA Rail passenger trains pass through the park. The track speed limit allows trains to travel up to 120 kilometres per hour and while long, heavy  freight carriers rarely reach that rate, the lighter, shorter VIA trains often do.

Seaton recalls an episode when she and her husband Basil were returning to Jasper from Vancouver by rail. The train was running behind schedule, but the passengers were informed that time would be made up through the Mount Robson area and Jasper National Park.

“That’s what shocked us, when they said they’d make up time in the park,” she said.

Seaton’s shock that VIA Rail would travel so quickly through the park is based on their recent history of wildlife kills. VIA trains have caused the death of 21 animals since 2003. Eight bighorn sheep were killed in a single incident that occured on the shores of Jasper Lake in October of last year.

“It must have been horrifying for people in the dome car to see eight sheep mowed down by the train,” Seaton said. 

The large toll from that single episode, when combined with the wolf, six elk and six other bighorns that were killed in the recent past, compelled Seaton to write VIA’s chief executive, Paul Cote. 

Cote himself responded directly to her request that the company consider reducing train speeds in person, and Seaton hoped action would be taken.

“I was hoping that they were going to do something, but then we didn’t hear anything about it,” she said.

Instead, a follow-up letter from Seaton brought a response from the CEO’s executive assistant stating that VIA trains travel on tracks controlled by CN, follow posted speeds and engage in “evasive actions” if animals are spotted on the tracks. That’s similar to the response provided to the Fitzhugh by Catherine Kaloutsky, VIA Rail’s communications officer for western Canada.

“We run on tracks operated by CN and the transportation safety board sets the speeds that are allowed for travel, depending on the track and the area,” she said. Kaloutsky has no knowledge of whether or not a voluntary speed reduction on the part of VIA has been discussed.

If that step hasn’t been considered, it should be, Seaton believes.

“I can see that it could be a bit of a problem with schedules but they never should have been going that fast in the first place,” she said. “Let’s have them reduce their speeds.”

Other rail operators who use the CN line don’t travel anywhere near the maximum speed. One, in fact, moves through the park at a leisurely average speed of 60 kilometres per hour.

“We’re constantly slowing down to what we call Kodak speed,” said Michelle Dunn, head of communications for the Rocky Mountaineer. The luxury tourist service that operates only in summer is very different from VIA Rail, according to Dunn.

“VIA Rail is a passenger service with different priorities than a tourist train,” she said. 

The Rocky Mountaineer has avoided problems with wildlife mortality, but that fact isn’t a major consideration for the company, Dunn adds.

“It’s really something that isn’t on our radar screen.”

Speed is only one factor to consider when developing a working system to reduce wildlife mortality along the railroad said Wes Bradford, the human wildlife conflict specialist for the park.

“Let’s face the fact that the railroad line isn’t going to be fenced in the near future ... so what kind of practical mitigating measures are going to work? Will it be a reduction in speed, or noisemaking or a combination of both?”

These are the questions being tackled by the Parks/CN working group. The group has developed a rail strike questionaire to be filled out by crews. Parks is interested in multiple aspects of each incident beyond the simply where, when and how many. The working group has been collecting data all year and will continue to do so throughout 2006. 

“We want to know what evasive measures were taken by the crew ... how far away the animals were,” said Bradford. At present, there is no strict policy on which actions to take in certain situations.

“None of it is really proven, what’s going to work and what isn’t,” he said.

Bradford does know that VIA trains have a particular past with bighorn sheep.

“As compared to other trains, VIA does have a bigger history of killing large numbers of sheep,” he said. This is due in part to the smooth, quiet ride the trains provide their passengers.  “They don’t rumble like other trains do, so they can obviously sneak up on wildlife.”

Other trains kill animals, of course. There have been 24 rail strikes this year as of mid-November. None have involved VIA Rail, something that comes as a surprise to Bradford.

“I am actually (suprised). It could happen at any time.”