3-mile-long freight trains are causing traffic nightmares in Texas

Texas freight trains have become a problem when crossing busy roads. With some trains 3 miles or more in length, places like Pleasantville, Texas often see traffic waiting up to 7 minutes to pass.

The town is close to railroad yards operated by Union Pacific, Wall Street Journal highlighted in a new article. “Monster trains” are said to be a way to make higher profits because they can carry more freight with fewer locomotives and less crew.

There are no federal limits on train length, although regulators are reviewing the issue, the report says. More than a dozen states, including Texas, have proposed limiting trains to 1.6 miles, but cannot enforce those laws because of interstate commerce rules.

Union Pacific, the main source of blocked crossing complaints, runs trains up to 3.8 miles long. Last quarter, the average train length was 1.8 miles, up from 2.3 miles in 2018.

The Wall Street Journal article reports that long trains move slowly, causing longer waits for drivers, and when they stop, it gets worse. School buses, ambulances and fire trucks face delays, while pedestrians and cyclists sometimes risk their lives crossing between train cars.

In July, a 27-year-old Texas woman died doing so when the train started moving. Texas leads the nation in blocked railroad crossings, with more than 8,000 reports in the past year, compared to 1,600 in Illinois. Population growth and container traffic from Gulf Coast ports have made blocked crossings more common in Texas.

“Any time a train operates through a community — whether it’s 3,000 feet or 10,000 feet — you know you’re going to have an impact on the roads, the communities,” commented Jim Vena, Union Pacific’s chief executive officer.

Railroads also argue that long trains help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while unions say they increase safety risks and threaten jobs.

A 3-mile train traveling at 25 mph takes about 7 minutes and 12 seconds to clear a crossing, plus 20 seconds for the gate warning.

Ramon Rios has a special-needs son with a driver on duty who sometimes calls him to say the trains are late for his journey home.

“But if you’re stuck right on the train tracks and there’s traffic behind you, you can’t get out,” the 70-year-old said.

“I ask where he stopped and I say, ‘Yeah, I know exactly where you are,'” he told Diary. “You have to wait for the train to pass. And then if it’s hot, it’s definitely gross.”

Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer concluded, “People can’t get to work in the morning or go home in the evening. And now our babies are crawling under trains to cross railroad tracks.”

By Zerohedge.com

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