On Sept. 21, local farmer John Marques was walking around his farm located near the GO Train tracks just behind the Tim Horton’s drive thru on Bridge Street, when he noticed a piece of steel wedged into the side of his barn.
The damage has severed the whole side of the barn, taking out three 2×8 structural support beams.
When Marques went to look at what hit the barn, he noticed that the piece of steel looked very familiar, as many of the same type of pieces had been scattered all over the field near his barn by the tracks.
Marques immediately filed a police report and contacted Metrolinx who were able to come investigate further over the weekend.
But it’s not just the damage that has Marquest upset, it is the safety of his employees and patrons in the vicinity of the tracks.
“We work here, I’ve got employees,” he explained about the safety concern.
“This is a major safety concern, as anyone in the vicinity would have certainly died,” he explained about the accident. “I worry for the lack of accountability, and safety protocols.”
Metrolinx Media Relations Specialist Fannie Sunshine said that the incident is being investigated.
“Safety is critical to our work at Metrolinx,” she said.
“Our Rail Corridor and Track Maintenance teams are investigating the incident. It appears that an anchor for a hydro pole was dislodged by a brush cutter operating along the rail corridor and this caused the metal to damage the farm building,” she said.
“Metrolinx has visited the property owner and are working directly with him (Marques) to address the damage caused,” said Sunshine.
Marques estimates there is about $20,000 worth of damage to his barn, which he says is used a fridge for his carrots. He already has his insurance coming to fix it, and Metrolinx has agreed to cover the costs.
Marques has been farming for 30 years, and his father almost 40 years and says this is the first time they have seen something like this happen.
Metrolinx continues to work with Marques on figuring out how to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future.
