In Mesão Frio, Vila Real district, the private railroad crossing where two Canadian women were fatally struck by a train in September was “not in compliance with legal requirements.” This conclusion was reached by the Office of Prevention and Investigation of Air and Rail Accidents (GPIAAF).
In an informative note released on Thursday, the GPIAAF recalled that on September 13, 2025, at 11:10 a.m., “the inter-regional passenger train No. 865, traveling on the Douro Line, fatally struck” two women, “both hearing-impaired and of Canadian nationality, who were at a private railroad crossing taking photographs.”
The accident prompted the immediate opening of a preliminary analysis process, which found that “the protection system of the railroad crossing was not in compliance with legal requirements applicable to private crossings.”
“There was also significant evidence that this non-compliance with requirements is recurrent over years,” the report stated.
Consequently, a formal safety investigation has been initiated, focusing on analyzing the “sequence of events of the accident,” the “condition of the railroad crossing protection system,” the “licensing or easement obligations of the private crossing holder,” the “infrastructure manager’s process for monitoring compliance with private crossing licenses,” the “infrastructure manager’s process for risk management in private crossings,” and the “legal and regulatory framework for private crossings.”
The final report will be published by GPIAAF, which states that if, at any stage of the investigation, a potential uncontrolled immediate safety risk is identified, it will issue “an urgent safety alert to relevant entities to take appropriate measures.”
The victims were identified as Guylane Boulanger, 62, and Elise Bénard, 66, both with hearing impairments. According to Canadian TV station CTV News, both resided in Montreal and were on vacation in Portugal with a group of people.
Guylane Boulanger and Elise Bénard, both with hearing impairments, were struck by a train while taking photographs in Mesão Frio, Vila Real district, on the past Saturday morning.
Márcia Guímaro Rodrigues | 09:18 – 17/09/2025
A friend identified as Tobi-Lynne Payne told CTV News that the women loved to travel and were well-known within the deaf community in Montreal.
“I have been crying,” she said. “My friends have been messaging me all day. I cried a lot because they are good friends of mine. It seems like a bizarre accident. I couldn’t believe it.”
On social media, the Quebec Deaf Sports Association (ASSQ) expressed “sorrow for the tragic death of Élise Bénard and Guylaine Boulanger,” emphasizing that both “left a mark on the deaf community with their valuable involvement in various non-profit organizations.”
