St. Thomas, Ont., man vows to fight 'frivolous' $615 ticket issued by CN Police Service

A St. Thomas, Ont., man vows to fight a $615 ticket issued by the CN Police Service after he walked his bike onto an open gravel area beside railway tracks, a spot where there's no sign indicating it's Canadian National property.

"I was in shock," said John Van Duynhoven, 71, about the moment he was issued the ticket. "I do plan to fight this." 

Van Duynhoven and his wife, Helene, went for a bike ride on Saturday afternoon along St. Catharine Street, a residential street that runs north of Talbot Street in downtown St. Thomas. The north end of the street widens out into a gravel area about 50 metres south of the train tracks. 

Van Duynhoven, who grew up in St. Thomas, admits to entering the gravel area, which maps show is a place where St. Catharine Street connects with Hiawatha Street. 

Van Duynhoven said he and his wife walked their bikes over the gravel area, coming no closer than two metres from the railway tracks. He grew up in the area but hadn't been there for years. He wanted to show his wife the spot where a number of track-side businesses once stood when the railways, which give St. Thomas its Railway City nickname, were the town's economic lifeblood. 

"We just came by on a whim," he told CBC News. "We were on a bicycle ride and I wanted to see the changes." 

While standing with his wife beside the tracks, Van Duynhoven spotted a police vehicle parked across them on Flora Street, but thought nothing of it. 

Moments later, the couple was walking south on St. Catharine Street, travelling away from the tracks, when he saw the police car again. This time, an officer got out of the vehicle and approached him. 

"He said I was trespassing on CN property and he wanted my ID," said Van Duynhoven. "I followed his instructions. He pulled out his ticket book and prepared to give me a ticket. I said, 'Is this real? Are you kidding me?' Because we really didn't do any harm." 

Van Duynhoven was particularly staggered by the $615 figure on the ticket. He said the officer refused to let him off with a warning. Although she was beside him when the police spotted John, Helene wasn't ticketed.

Van Duynhoven sent CBC News a copy of his ticket. The charge falls under Sect. 26.1 of the federal Railway Safety Act. 

That law, which you can read here, says "no person shall, without lawful excuse, enter on land on which a line work is situated." 

CN has a small yard on that section of tracks, but Van Duynhoven said he saw no railway workers anywhere near the area.

On Monday, he contacted the CN Police Service, hoping it would agree to nix the ticket to avoid a costly and protracted court challenge. He was told any incursion onto CN property is considered trespassing, regardless of whether there's a sign or fence to indicate it's railway property.