This week is Rail Safety Week in Saskatchewan, with the province reminding people to pay attention at crossings.

Estevan is one town that has to deal with railway safety, with the city bisected by a crossing.

Estevan Poice Service Chief Rich Lowen says that the city is fairly safe when it comes to railways.

"We only had six occurrences in 2022 and occurrences can be everything from crossing arms that aren't working to a train sitting too close, arms being activated, or people disobeying signals or railway crossings. In 2023 we've had 12 occurrences year to date. So we don't have a ton of issues, everybody's very familiar with the train rolling through our community and people generally do a good job of staying safe."

Of those occurrences mentioned, Lowen says that none of them ended with anyone being injured.

They try to keep people in the loop regarding railway safety through campaigns other public safety organizations put on.

"We try and stay connected with CN and CPKC police with their social media posts and things like that, just to make people familiar. We don't do a specific training education in regards to railway safety other than SGI's red light flashing and things like that.

Lowen offered some tips for people to consider so they can stay safe near tracks.

"Don't try and race trains for crossings. Make sure you look when you're coming up to an approach. Don't cross the tracks on foot or any place other than marked intersections, things like that."

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