Railway malfunction on Wallbridge-Loyalist Road over

A railway-crossing malfunction on Wallbridge-Loyalist Road was resolved by about 10:30 a.m. Monday. Cars were crossing normally. Photo by Olivia Timm, QNet News

By Sophie Dudley

BELLEVILLE – A malfunction of the railway crossing at Wallbridge-Loyalist Road between Dundas Street West and Loyalist College has been resolved.

There were reports of a malfunction between 9:15 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Monday. Heading north toward Loyalist, the left-hand side guard was down and the warning lights were flashing but there was no oncoming train and the right-hand guard was still up.

Loyalist student Olivia Timm was heading to class when she came across the situation. Even though the lights were flashing, some drivers were crossing the tracks, she said.

“I was confused and a little bit nervous. I wasn’t sure what was happening and I didn’t know if I should follow what other people were doing or turn around … Some cars were pulled over (with drivers) on their phones trying to figure out what was happening,” said Timm.

“Southbound traffic was going around the guardrail. Five cars at a time were going, not one at a time like they should. So that was kind of scary. I was nervous.”

QNet News phoned Belleville police and was told no one had reported the situation but that officers would be dispatched right away.

A spokesman for Canadian Pacific said that the railway was unsure of what happened and that maintenance crews were on the way. If drivers come across a situation like this, they should find an alternative route, the spokesman told QNet News.