Why is a train allowed to block a road?

Question

Many, many times a train will come through and go slow, and then slower until it stops for 10-15 or more minutes. I was stuck for 25 minutes one day. This isn't just some little road, this is a major US highway that thousands of comuters take everyday. What if there had been a fire or something and nobody would have been able to respond? It just seems that this shouldn't be allowed.

Answer 1

while that is a major concern, there could be a few reasons for the train to stop there, one being that it has to stop in order to allow a train infront of it to move out, and thus have track to run on itself.

it may also be a matter of switching tracks, maybe there is a junction further down the track that it has to take, and the proceedings mean downtime.

call the rail company and ask them, they surely have a reason, since nothing is done without a cause in the business world

Answer 2

As I read some of these comments I'm surprised!!!!

"Find different times to cross the railroad tracks." (Trains do not run on exact time schedules. Passenger Trains may have a schedule, but most of the time they are late.)

As for the blocking the crossing. In most states now, a train can block a crossing for a maximum of 15 minutes, (train must be at a complete stop for 15 minutes). If the train blocks the crossing for more than 15 minutes, there is a placard on the crossing gate that has a phone number & the milepost location so the person you talk to, can tell the dispatcher to keep the train moving.

If the train sits there for a prolonged period of time the train/railroad can be fined for blocking crossing gates (State Violation).

Example in real life:
Union Pacific was fined $13,000 dollars once because a coal train had stopped and blocked two crossings in a town and the law enforcement agency told them to move the train, and they didn't. So every fifteen minutes, the police officers wrote Union Pacific Railroad a ticket for violating the state's fifiteen minute rule.

Answer 3

Sometimes blocking crossings can't be avoided.

Usually, when there is industrial switching to be done, and the crew knows that their entire train is too long for the space available between crossings, the bulk of the train will be left "out of town" so that crossings won't be blocked. When the switching is done, the crew returns to their train and continue their journey.

Usually, when held at a siding or other point where there are crossings involved, the train will stop short of fouling crossings, pulling in to the clear after the arrival of the train that caused them to have to take the siding. Train crews and dispatchers cooperate very closely with each other in these situations.

Other situations are out of the control of both operating crew and train dispatcher. This would occur in the event of accident, derailment, defective equipment, trouble with the air brake system, electrical problems, mechanical difficulties, signal problems, high water, protective device activation, etc., etc.

Although it varies from state to state, in California, a train may legally block a crossing for ten minutes. If it is not possible to move the entire train, law enforcement officials dictate which crossing(s) shall be cleared to move traffic.

If, as suggested, this is an ongoing problem, then the blockages should be reported. When reporting incidents, be sure to note the name of the road crossing, time of day, direction of train and the engine number of the train. This data will insure the right train gets the attention.

Otherwise, bite your lower lip, leave 10 minutes earlier for work, have your lap-top handy, NOW talk on the cell phone, etc., etc. I can assure you the train crew would rather be under way even more than you do.

Answer 4

If it happens once, okay, the train had an emergency stop, it happens. If it happens every day, then:

1. Call the cops. Everyday. Don't use 911, look up their non-emergency number and put it on speed dial.

2. Show up at city council meetings and demand an overpass be built. That'll cost about 5 million dollars, just so you know. It's a state highway so it'll probably be the jurisdiction of the state DOT, so you might need to take your fight to the capitol. No worries, you'll have a LOT of friends.

3. One of your friends is the railroad. They hate the situation too, but it's the only way to do their job. Go talk to 'em and get em on board. They might find a cheaper way to do it.

4. Change the time you travel so you don't get caught by the train.

5. Learn your own town, and go drive a different route when that happens. You'd be some kind of dumb if the next street over had an overpass...

Answer 5

It's a fact of life that the railroad will block crossings from time to time - that's an unfortunate part of having to share crossings between road and rail. However, there are regulations concerning this.

In Canada, we're not allowed to block a crossing while stopped for more than 5 minutes from the time the first vehicle or pedestrian arrives with the intention of crossing, nor are we allowed to block a crossing for more than 5 minutes during a switching operation (again, from the time the first car or person shows up). I'm not sure of regulations stateside, but generally, we apply our rule if we're stateside, as it's one of the more strict ones.

Have I ever blocked a crossing for more than the allotted five minutes? Absolutely. But in my defense, we do what we can to avoid this happening.

If we're going to be stopped to meet another train going the same or opposing direction, we'll usually work out something with the dispatcher to ensure we're not blocking any crossings. Sometimes this means stopping far away from the signal that would display the stop indication; other times, we've chugged along slowly for several miles so that neither us, nor the other train, needs to come to a complete stop.

When switching, we often have to block crossings. Many times the switching is done near rural roads, or late at night. This makes it much easier on us, as we usually just tie up the crossing(s), and keep a close eye on them for traffic to show up. Usually, once the first car shows up, we try to clear the crossing as quickly as possible.

The bottom line is, we're not out to intentionally hold anyone up, but it does happen. Often, we're paid by the mile, so while you're not at work making any money because we've got you blocked, we're not making any money, either, because we're stopped for some reason. All of us are trying to get moving as fast as we can.

Answer 6

Back in the 1800's when the railroads were first forming Congress gave them "exclusive" rights of way across the U.S. to lay tracks on. Usually this consisted of mile square blocks all along their route with the tracks running close to the middle. This "usually" free land allowed the railroad to drum up capital investment to buy the rail, and pay labor, etc. to put it down. Because all this predates automobiles and because nothing at that time was bigger harder to stop than a train, they had and continue to have exclusive right of way. States have passed ordinances limiting the time that trains can block intersections and how many times during the day in urban areas, but because so much commerce travels on the trains very efficiently and because that commerce also helps employ folks they are allowed to go about their business with little interference. Trains always have the right of way and the "railroad crossing" is simply a "right of passage" granted to the rest of us by the railroads and approved by the local authorities. Also in most places the railroads are the ones that "maintain" these crossings because of not wanting anybody else to tamper near the tracks. That is why you can see so many rough ones as as long as their tracks are okay they have little concern for the cars that have to cross there. All that crossing repair, maintenance, lights, barriers, etc. comes out of their pocket and therefore "profits". Essentially the laws governing this predate cars altogether and train has the right of way over us motorists, or pedestrians, or "buggy drivers" in Amish country. :-)

Answer 7

I work for a railroad and I will tell you that a train is allowed to block a crossing for up to 10 minutes unless there is an emergency on the train (someone hurt/accident/train breaks down)...then they are allowed as much time as they want under these circumstances. If you are really concerned contact the FRA (Federal Railroad Admin.) for more info.

Answer 8

This used to happen in Reno, Nv, until last year when a deep cutting was built for the railroad to pass under the main street. The station was rebuilt in the style of the old 1900 vintage stations but with modern amenities. The cost was very expensive.

Answer 9

What would you propose the train do if it needs to stop or switch tracks? The tracks cross the road so that is why the train is there.

Why did they put the tracks there? Because there can't be a really windy track or the trains would always derail. Unfortunately, your road was in a prime location.

Answer 10

Odds are the railway was created first so the question is why would they build a highway that crosses train tracks. They probably had no choice - the highway needed to cross the tracks at some point. I suppose they could have build an overpass.