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The thin line marks today, 29 September 2026.

Road

Rail Safety Week

Rail Safety Week runs in the third week of September and is led by Operation Lifesaver Canada with railways, police and municipalities. Each day has a focus — survivor stories, the Operation Clear Track enforcement blitz, crossing behaviour, Indigenous community outreach, trespass and suicide prevention. The message is that a bad decision at a crossing or on the tracks cannot be taken back: there is no undo button.

2027

20–26 September 2027

Expected

Expected date from the organiser’s standing rule. Confirm with the organiser nearer the time.

Organiser: Operation Lifesaver Canada

Read the organiser’s pageAdd to your calendarJSON

When it falls

Third Monday of September, running 7 days, every year.

Also known as: Semaine de la sécurité ferroviaire, RSW Canada.

Where it came from

Operation Lifesaver Canada exists to prevent collisions at railway crossings and trespassing incidents on railway property, and it treats public education as the way to do it. Funded by the Railway Association of Canada and Transport Canada, it works with railways, governments, police, labour groups and communities across the country, and its Rail Safety Ambassadors give presentations to schools, driver associations and snowmobile and ATV clubs. It leads Rail Safety Week each September, when more than a hundred Canadians a year are still killed or seriously injured on or near the tracks.

The organiser’s account of the day

How organisations mark it

  • Take part in Operation Clear Track, the enforcement and education blitz at crossings run with police services across Canada and the United States.
  • Book a free Operation Lifesaver presentation for a school, driver association, ATV or snowmobile club.
  • Use the community and educators' toolkits — signs, videos and lesson materials — through the week.
  • Brief drivers who work near crossings, including delivery and gig drivers, on crossing signs, gates and stopping distances.
  • Report blocked sight lines, damaged signage or faulty crossing devices to the railway that owns the track.

Why this exists

Road & transport

1.16 millionroad traffic deaths a year

Road traffic deaths worldwide — worldwide, 2026. Source: World Health Organization, Road traffic injuries (fact sheet) (2026).

“Approximately 1.16 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes.”

More figures for this hazard

ObservanceNextKindWhereHazards
Rail Safety Week9–15 August 2027 ExpectedWeekAustralia, New ZealandRoad
Canadian Injury Prevention DayThe organiser has not announced datesDayCanadaChildrenFallsRoad
National Work Zone Awareness WeekThe organiser has not announced datesWeekUnited StatesRoadWork

Sources

  1. Rail Safety Week 2026 — Operation Lifesaver Canada — www.operationlifesaver.ca, read 15 September 2026.
  2. Operation Lifesaver Reminds Canadians that There Is No 'Undo' Button — news release, 15 September 2025 (Rail Safety Week 2025 runs September 15-21) — www.operationlifesaver.ca, read 15 September 2026.
  3. Rail Safety Week concludes, our work continues — Operation Lifesaver Canada, 21 September 2025 — www.operationlifesaver.ca, read 15 September 2026.
  4. About — Operation Lifesaver Canada — www.operationlifesaver.ca, read 15 September 2026.

Page last confirmed against the organiser on 15 September 2026.