A St. Thomas, Ont., man vows to fight a $615 ticket issued by the CN Police Service after he rode his bike onto an open gravel area beside railway tracks, a spot where there’s no sign indicating it’s Canadian National property.
“I was in shock,” said John Van Duynhoven, 71, about the moment he was issued the ticket. “I do plan to fight this.”
Van Duynhoven and his wife, Helene, went for a bike ride on Saturday afternoon along St. Catharine Street, a residential street that runs north of Talbot Street in downtown St. Thomas. The north end of the street widens out into a gravel area about 50 metres south of the train tracks.
Van Duynhoven, who grew up in St. Thomas, admits to entering the gravel area, which maps show is a place where St. Catharine Street connects with Hiawatha Street.
Van Duynhoven said he and his wife rode their bikes over the gravel area, coming no closer than two metres from the railway tracks. He grew up in the area but hadn’t been there for years. He wanted to show his wife the spot where a number of track-side businesses once stood when the railways, which give St. Thomas its Railway City nickname, were the town’s economic lifeblood.
“We just came by on a whim,” he told CBC News. “We were on a bicycle ride and I wanted to see the changes.”
No signs to indicate railway property
Moments later, the couple was walking south on St. Catharine Street, travelling away from the tracks, when he saw a police vehicle. The officer got out of the vehicle and approached him.
“He said I was trespassing on CN property and he wanted my ID,” said Van Duynhoven. “I followed his instructions. He pulled out his ticket book and prepared to give me a ticket. I said, ‘Is this real? Are you kidding me?’ Because we really didn’t do any harm.”
Van Duynhoven was particularly staggered by the $615 figure on the ticket. He said the officer refused to let him off with a warning. Although she was beside him when the police spotted John, Helene wasn’t ticketed.
Fine falls under Railway Safety Act
Van Duynhoven sent CBC News a copy of his ticket. The charge falls under Sect. 26.1 of the federal Railway Safety Act.
That law, which you can read here, says “no person shall, without lawful excuse, enter on land on which a line work is situated.”
CN has a small yard on that section of tracks, but Van Duynhoven said he saw no railway workers anywhere near the area.
On Monday, he contacted the CN Police Service, hoping it would agree to nix the ticket to avoid a costly and protracted court challenge. He was told any incursion onto CN property is considered trespassing, regardless of whether there’s a sign or fence to indicate it’s railway property.
CN responded late Wednesday to a request by CBC for comment with an email that didn’t mention Van Duynhoven.
The statement from spokesperson Michelle Hannan said, “Enforcement happens on an ongoing basis and CN police works closely with neighbouring communities to ensure everyone is aware of the dangers of trespassing on CN property and infrastructure.”
“When CN police are on patrol and see unsafe behaviour, it is their duty to communicate to community members the dangers of trespassing and this is done through enforcement, education, engineering and engagement activities.”
The email also gave a list of safety tips, including to keep off railway property or risk being fined up to $50,000.
Although Van Duynhoven was spared tens of thousands of dollars more in fines, he said he’s sharing his story to make others aware they can be ticketed for being in areas close to the tracks, even with no visible signs or fences.
Meanwhile, he has already started the court process of fighting the ticket, hoping it’ll be dismissed.
“Why tie up valuable court time with something as frivolous as this?” Van Duynhoven said. “Hopefully someone has some common sense within the legal system. If I had seen a sign, I wouldn’t have been there.”