REGINA — Trains, and train awareness, are the words when it comes to a newly-arrived documentary screening at the Saskatchewan Science Centre.
This week the Kramer IMAX has launched the screening of Train Time, a documentary about the journey of freight trains across North America.
The story follows the cross-country trek of a large freight train from Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, as it makes its way from Chicago to the West Coast and then up through the coast and then back through the mountains and plains to Chicago.
Ryan Holota, chief operating officer at Saskatchewan Science Centre, said the documentary looks particularly at the technology inside of trains, including satellite and GPS tracking and all the engineering that goes into it.
Holota thinks public reaction will be enthusiastic for Train Time.
“There's a term that they introduce, or that was introduced to me in the movie, called foamers. It’s like people that foam at their mouths when they're all excited about trains,” said Holota
“And I don't know that I ever would have thought of myself as that, but yet, I had a train set when I was a kid. My kids, we grew up on, they grew up on Thomas the Tank Engine, and all of the TV shows and stuff. And when I look back, it's like, actually trains have been a really interesting and important part of my life and of my kids' lives.
"And I think that's true for everybody, right? We see them everywhere. We don't necessarily think about them maybe in the way that we probably should, and how many goods are transported by them, and how far they travel. But I think there is still a real interest and fascination with trains, even today. And I think Train Time is going to… really tap into that, and people are going to be really enthusiastic about the movie.”
Partnership with Operation Lifesaver
The documentary, by Canadian director Stephen Low, shows all the intricacies of directing a large train safely through all of the difficult and hazardous terrain and weather conditions it encounters. But it is a safety hazard of a different kind that is being highlighted to promote this showing — the hazard of collisions at railroad crossings.
Saskatchewan Science Centre has teamed up with Operation Lifesaver to launch Train Time during Rail Safety Week 2025.
In commemoration of Rail Safety Week, a VIP screening of Train Time was held Thursday morning at Kramer IMAX including members of Operation Lifesaver, helping to spread their message of rail safety.
As part of the Rail Safety Week commemorations, the Kramer IMAX has also been screening another train-themed movie, Rocky Mountain Express, for this week only. The plan is for Train Time to run at the Kramer IMAX well beyond this week, with plenty of opportunities for the public to see it over the next several months.
Operation Lifesaver raises awareness of rail safety and promotes the prevention of injuries or deaths at railroad crossings. Holota sees it as a great opportunity to raise awareness.
“It's interesting because obviously, when I was growing up, I didn't think a lot about train safety, and I probably know more about it now than I really did when it was more important for me to know when I was riding my bike and going for walks,” said Holota.
“And there's still a lot about train safety that I don't know, and that was why when the opportunity came to launch Train Time during Rail Safety Week and to partner with Operation Lifesaver, this was so important to us, because they really are the experts… And so partnering with them, having them on site this week, it's fantastic. And I really do think that this partnership is going to help to save lives, and that's really important.”
Railway police officers Brad Bidulka, constable with CPKC police in Regina, and Hank Neumiller, sergeant with CN Police Service out of Melville, pointed out there is much information that the public does not know about the information at railway crossings. They note many people don’t even understand that the familiar “x” railway crossing signs at rail tracks mean that you must yield to a train.
“Through my work as a railway person, as a police officer, I find that the public has lack of knowledge insofar as the signs and signals at rail crossings, and there's a multitude of information that's available at the crossings that I find that the public is not aware of,” said Bidulka. “Either that they're so busy in their day, they want to get from point A to point B, that this is very, very important information that could change a decision, and we all want everyone to make it home safe.”
Bidulka is a co-chair of the Operation Lifesaving Committee in Saskatchewan, and he said the most important part about rail safety is the education aspect.
“There's no undo button. There's no redo. It's going to be either a fatality or a serious injury, and we want to reduce that through education, and we do that provincially and on a national level through attending events throughout the province.”
One important piece of information the officers shared was about the blue signs posted at railway crossings. Those signs provide details on who to call in case of an emergency at the track.
Those signs will provide information about the network, the railway you are at, the emergency number to call for that network whether it is for CN, CPKC or another rail line, and the physical location of that crossing.
On those signs, CN’s number is 1-800-465-9239 and CPKC is 1-800-716-9132. Railway police are urging people to simply use the numbers they see on the particular blue signs posted because it will eliminate confusion for responders about whose rail line it is.
“It's the most important thing you're going to find, and it's there for your purpose as part of the public,” said Neumiller.
“That's hugely important, because this is as important to the railway as the house number is on your house. They know exactly where that is.
"It is a fixed location on the railway, and we need to know where that is, because if you tell us this information on the sign, we can make it safe. We can stop trains. We can slow trains down.
"We can make it so you're safe where you are, so if you're stuck in a snowdrift on a railway crossing, you're not going to get hit by a train. If you don't call this, we don't know you're there.”
The officers welcome the opportunity to promote rail safety.
“Anytime is train time, just like this movie, Train Time,” said Bidulka. “Trains go backwards, forwards, the locomotive is on the opposite side with no lights. They're incredibly quiet nowadays and I can tell you that based on my experience working with railway police, that every incident that happens, whether it's at a crossing or a trespassing incident, is completely preventable.”
