Churchbridge, Sask. still searching for funds to upgrade deadly rail crossing

A fatal railway crossing remains the focus of efforts to secure safety upgrades following a young mother’s death last year. Fruzsina De Cloedt reports.

Following the death of newly-wed Alyssa Thompson last December, the community of Churchbridge, Sask. is hoping to secure grant funding for safety upgrades to its railroad crossing.

In December 2025, Thompson was killed when her vehicle collided with an incoming train at a railroad crossing in Churchbridge. She was only 29 years old. The crash came just weeks after Thompson’s wedding.

“[Churchbridge] had hearings years ago, and knowing that there was government funding and grants and stuff out there, why wasn’t it applied for [upgrading the crossing]? Why did it take another accident to sort of get the ball rolling on this again?” asked Matthew Thompson, Alyssa’s husband.

Thompson’s story is not the only recent tale of loss centered on that particular railroad crossing. In early 2023, David Holstein was taking his son to a hockey game when their car collided with a train at that same spot. Holstein was killed in the crash.

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At that time, the town had considered upgrading the intersection but eventually abandoned the idea until the most recent fatality.

“I know the town was in contact with CPKC [in February, 2026]. They had a very fruitful discussion there, just trying to get a value as to what the new warning system may be on that crossing,” Warren Kaeding, who serves as Churchbridge’s MLA and the minister of trade and export development, told CTV News.

The price tag of a new and improved rail crossing comes out to $460,000, a high cost for the community made up of only 900 residents.

“We’ve applied for provincial funding. I think it’s an SGI grant or something, so we’re waiting to hear back on that,” Churchbridge Mayor Jared Melnyk said. “We’re still waiting for some of the Government of Canada infrastructure programs to open up before we can move forward on the project.”

He said Transport Canada’s applicable grant has been closed for some years, but they are hopeful that it will reopen this year.

For the time being, the town has not allocated any funds for upgrading the Lovel Street crossing.

“I think we’re probably going to have to have a public meeting and get input from the community because it’s going to be a lot of money to put this crossing in,” Melnyk explained. “Instead of seven people making the decision, it should probably be more of the community.”

Earlier this year, some members of the community called on CPKC to chip in with the costs.

“I find that it’s absolutely baffling that a for-profit company like CP Rail thinks that they should be able to offset the hundreds of thousands of dollars for these lights to keep patrons safe on a small tax base of 800 people,” Elyce Wilson, a friend of David Holstein, told CTV News back in February.

In its response to CTV News on April 17, CPKC said it remains engaged with the appropriate stakeholders.

“[The new warning system] could potentially be supported with funding from Transport Canada’s Rail Safety Improvement Program or other federal or provincial infrastructure funding contribution programs to municipalities and road authorities,” CPKC added.

Thompson’s widower remains hopeful that the safety upgrades will be installed.

“People are on board with that mostly. I understand there’s a cost involved to the taxpayers, but if it saves a family member’s life eventually, it seems like it’s worth it,” he said.

Mayor Melnyk expects to move forward on the matter in mid-July. For now, all anyone can do is wait.

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