A Barrhaven father, who nearly lost his daughter on last year’s bus-train crash, is demanding charges and changes after a Transpo bus was caught under a railway barrier arm.

Paul Rodie says police have given him an incident number after he called to complain there were no charges laid after a rail arm lowered on an OC Transpo double decker during the Thursday morning commute in Barrhaven.

Rodie said lights should be added to the “railway-crossing ahead” warning signs on Fallowfield Rd., which would begin flashing if the barrier arms were about to come down.

He also believes the second set of traffic lights at the crossing should be removed.

Transport Canada seems to agree with Rodie’s concerns. One of its safety inspectors sent a letter to the city Friday, demanding an explanation.

“The danger of stopping under the railway crossing gate arms puts the road users at threat of coming into contact with an approaching train,” the letter stated.

Rodie, who is a licensed truck driver and former bus driver, believes the driver of the bus should be charged under the Highway Traffic Act — even though Transpo GM John Manconi said the driver “absolutely made the right decision.”

Manconi told the Sun last week the bus was eastbound on Fallowfield Rd. where the level rail crossing is protected by rail signals, arms and traffic lights. The bus was behind two cars, a cube van and another bus at the red light when the light turned green. As the first few vehicles proceeded over the tracks, the light turned yellow and the bus driver stopped about 15 feet in front of the tracks, but past the stop line.

That’s when the signal arm came down on the double-decker as a Via Rail train was approaching.

"If I had done that in my truck, they'd have charged me and it would have been on my driver abstract meaning I'd never get another job," Rodie said.

It is the same bus route as the one involved in last year’s crash in which six people were killed when an OC Transpo bus drove through the gate and struck the side of a passing Via train. The 76 route has been re-named 72.

His daughter — a fourth-year medical student at U of O — was three rows back on the top level of the 76 bus when it crashed into the train.

She survived but witnessed all the horrors and worked to triage the wounded before paramedics arrived.

Rodie’s son lost his best friend in the bus crash.

Twitter: @DougHempstead