Two people have been killed after their vehicle got stuck on the tracks between two crossing arms, according to police.
Langley RCMP were called to the incident near the Langley Bypass and Glover Road around 9:40 a.m. Sunday.
According to witnesses, the car was headed north on Glover Road when it stopped on the tracks as the crossing arms came down.
A westbound CN train slammed into the car, pushing it for nearly one kilometre before it came to a full stop.
"The train dragged the vehicle for quite a distance," Staff Sgt. David Brown said.
"We did initiate life-saving efforts on both the male and female occupants and unfortunately they were not successful and both of them passed away at the scene."
The CN train was transporting coal and was enroute to Roberts bank when the crash occurred, officials said.
"It was a loaded unit so I would assume it would take quite some distance before they’d be able to stop the train," said Deputy Fire Chief Brian Godlonton.
He said the rail crossing has ample signage and both crossing arms were down when the incident happened.
While this was a CN train, it happened on Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. Both agencies, along with the RCMP's Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service and BC Coroners Service, are involved in the investigation.
Brown said officers are interviewing the train's conductor and multiple witnesses, and will be able to pinpoint exactly where the vehicle stopped, but why is a question they can't seem to answer right now.
"The couple is elderly, that may have contributed to the accident," he said. "We don't know if it was mechanical, a medical incident or some other reason."
The victims' ages and identities have not been released.
Train-ambulance collision in same area
In September 2015, there was another deadly crash involving a freight train in the same area.
An ambulance carrying a 87-year-old patient was being transported to the hospital from a long-term care facility when it was struck by a train at Glover Road and Crush Crescent, about two kilometres away from this most recent collision.
The Transportation Safety Board had investigated and found the paramedic was distracted and made a call on a personal cell phone one minute before the crash.
Investigators said the warning system was activated when the ambulance entered the crossing and was partially in the path of the train.
The TSB also found the crossing was confusing due to the conflicting signals for drivers. Upgrades have been done since that fatal crash.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith
