A private rail crossing that connected Brighton Street with Highway 39 has been temporarily closed by CP Rail, pending a decision on the future of the crossing.

The crossing was closed on Wednesday by CP Rail crews, exactly one week after a Weyburn woman, Beverly Ginter, 46, was killed when her car was broadsided by a freight train when she tried to use that crossing.

"It's a private crossing that was being used by the public, and it was closed with the full cooperation of the City of Weyburn," said Breanne Feigel, media spokesperson for CP Rail. "CP will be meeting with city officials in the near future to discuss what to do with the access."

She indicated the investigation into the fatal accident is still ongoing by CP Rail and their police department, and the Transportation Safety Board may also issue findings about the safety of the crossing. The investigation will look into the cause along with the factors leading up to the cause, "so we can put safety measures in place."

For the City of Weyburn's part, the city engineers will study the access to determine if it's needed by the city at all, realizing that in the end, it's up to CP if the crossing will remain open or not.

"Transport Canada will be brought into the situation. It's a part of their due diligence to close it off temporarily until there are discussions held to see if there are alternatives. CP was being pro-active rather than reactive," said city manager Bob Smith.

Asked if the city will want to keep the crossing open at all, he replied, "It's not really our call. The question has to be answered, is it an access we need? Even if we say we need it, we'd still have to deal with CP and Transport Canada."

The meeting with the city will likely be held in early or mid-June, Smith added. "We'll be looking at it from a planning point of view. What they'll be asking us, is it necessary for us to have this access, or can you use another access?"

The safety of all crossings is an issue the railway will continue to address in the community.

"The message we try to get out is this does highlight the need around crossing safety. It really is an important community issue we all have a stake in," said Feigel.

She wasn't able to put a time-line on how long the investigation will take, but notes the community will be involved in whatever the outcome is, and the findings of Transport Canada will be made public.

"Our CP Police does work quite closely with the community, talking about crossing safety. It's more than just enforcement; the police do have the authority to give tickets to those who violate laws, but their role is more focussed on prevention," said Feigel, adding an incident like this is tragic not only for the community, but is hard on the crews involved as well.