Markham residents angry over return of loud GO train horns

• UPDATE: On Wednesday evening, Markham's mayor announced on social media that GO trains passing through at Eureka Street would stop blowing their horns at 3 a.m. Thursday.

Markham resident Heather Bator started the new year with an unexpected wake-up call. A GO train passing by her retirement community home sounded its horn at 3 a.m. and then again at 5 a.m.

That's because Metrolinx reinstated train whistles at the railway crossing just outside her residence on Dec. 27, 2024,  following a "near miss incident" on Dec. 23 that the transit agency called "extremely concerning" in a statement to CBC Toronto. 

But residents say the one-off event doesn't justify bringing back the horns.

"It's disrupting our whole lives," Bator told CBC Toronto, standing alongside other frustrated neighbours.

"It's absolutely disgraceful," she said.

For years, residents and the city worked to silence the GO trains travelling through. By making upgrades to the crossings under a $7.5 million anti-whistling program that started in 2018, Markham says it stopped the mandatory horns at 15 crossings. But now, residents near the Eureka and Euclid streets crossing are hearing the horns — and there's no timeline as to when the whistling will go away again.

Shanta Sundarason has campaigned to silence the horns since 2014. Right now, she says the whistles are sounding off 34 times a day near her house, starting with the first passing train at 5 a.m. and ending around midnight with the final train.

"I get the safety aspect of it," Sundarason said. "But at the end of the day, why do the residents have to suffer for the sake of the folly of one person?"

Safety assessment underway

According to local councillor Reid McAlpine, the Dec. 23 incident involved a street sweeper contracted by a nearby townhouse developer Minto Communities that got caught in the track.

Minto marketing director Sonia Markovic confirmed via email that the company is "aware of an incident with a subcontractor," but said more details couldn't be shared.

A full-scale safety assessment is now underway and the whistles have been reinstated as a precaution, Metrolinx said in an emailed statement.

"Transport Canada requires the implementation of whistles in any situation where unsafe conditions affect the rail corridor," a spokesperson said. "We will continue to work with the City of Markham to discuss mitigations and traffic management plans."

Markham city staff met with representatives from Metrolinx and Minto on Jan. 2 and Jan. 6 to discuss the incident and safety measurements. 

Metrolinx has asked the city to add more safety features at the rail crossing and for Minto to do additional safety training with its staff and contractors, McAlpine says, and once that's done Metrolinx can reinstate the no-whistle policy within 24 to 48 hours.

Over the weekend, the city upgraded street signs and on Tuesday, Minto submitted its training and inspection plan to Metrolinx, he added.

"If I had to live immediately adjacent to this level crossing — and a lot of people do — I'd be equally upset," McAlpine said. "But I'm afraid I just have to ask them to be a little bit more patient … all three parties are all committed to resolving this situation as soon as possible."

After years of enjoying the no-whistle protocol, residents say all they want is for life to go back to the way things were — and quickly.

"We're not looking to pick a fight," said resident Nick Lisi. "But we're hoping that there's a resolution that is made sooner rather than later."

Bator urged the city to "get your act together and stop the horns."

"We're seniors. We can't sleep properly," she said.