The Municipality of Machin is raising concerns about a new practice by Canadian Pacific.

Mayor Gordon Griffiths says the railway company has started to send bills to private property owners asking them to pay for repairs to the railways crossing to access their property.

Griffiths says he’s approaching federal officials to get to get answers.

“We’re going to work through the political angle right now,” says Griffiths in a recent interview.

“We’re trying to figure out right now what’s going on and why is this happening.  How can you cut someone off?  The railway is going to cut you off so you have to walk away from your home?  It’s just ridiculous.”

Griffiths adds that Machin isn’t alone, and this is happening all over the country.

“There’s been a couple of situations like that where there’s one household across the CP mainline, but it’s sounding like it’s happening in the unincorporated…happening all over the place.  I’m not sure why this has flared up now.”

Griffiths says in some cases these crossings have been in place for more than 100 years.

In a written statement CP says “Existing federally regulated grade crossings must meet the requirements of the grade crossings regulations by November 28, 2024”.

CP Rail says residents with concerns can contact Transport Canada through their website, or if they have disputes over costs for their crossing they can contact the Canadian Transportation Agency at 1-877-850-7148.