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Public Rail Safety Week wraps up Sunday, and it coincides with an alarming increase in the number of people being struck by trains.

At least 24 pedestrians have been hit by trains so far in 2012, more than double from the same period last year, and most were killed, including five in Alberta, three in British Columbia and one in Saskatchewan.

Dan Di Tota of the Rail Safety Group "Operation Lifesaver" says he’s particularly worried, given that the number of serious train incidents had been falling steadily over the past decade. "It is deeply alarming and concerning to us. I'd like to think that it's just an anomaly and we certainly hope that we can turn that around in 2012."

Di Tota says Alberta and BC are off to a particularly bad starts this year, given that neither had a single trespasser incident in the first three months of last year.

Police and safety officials will be out in force at rail crossings and known trespassing sites across the country, and say offenders will be ticketed.