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Residents, Businesses Want Solutions After Cantonment Railroad Crossing Blocked For Hours
August 28, 2018
Residents and business owners are continuing to call for solutions after a stopped train blocked a Cantonment crossing for over two hours Tuesday morning.
They said blocking the Becks Lake Road crossing, just east of Highway 29, leaves residents and business employees no other way in or out, creating a potential public safety issue by blocking emergency services from entering the area. A local business representative said it also impacts their business because employees can’t get to work.
An Escambia County spokesperson said 911 dispatchers were not notified by the railroad that the crossing was blocked.
We reached out to CSX, but have not received a response.
Pictured: A train blocking the Beck’s Lake Road Tuesday morning. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
40 Responses to “Residents, Businesses Want Solutions After Cantonment Railroad Crossing Blocked For Hours”
Put the entire intersection of US 29 and Becks Lake/Muscogee in the air on a bridge. Flyover the tracks on 29 and BLR. Traffic light on top of bridge. Engineer a merge of 95-A in to US 29, similar to Davis and Nine Mile Road interchange. Talk with the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) at the West Florida Planning Council and get a study underway. Just understand, it will be expensive no matter what due to bridge costs and property acquisitions. Otherwise, there is no way to really correct the large scale traffic constriction in this area.
John, there are only two, and sometimes three people in a train crew. We know the engineer cannot uncouple the cars, because he has to operate the train. Also, any uncoupling would have to begin in the rear so the train engine could move the cars apart. So someone would have to walk from the rear of the train all the way to the front, which could be a mile or more. He would have to separate the air brake hoses and manually pull the linkage to the coupler. He would have to communicate with the engineer when he needed the engine to move forward. Then he would have to walk back and undo everything he did earlier. So you can add all that time to the original time for whatever caused the delay to begin with. Did you know that train crews are only allowed by Federal Law to operate a train so many hours. If something happens and the train is delayed too long, they have to transport another crew to where the train had to stop. Some here say there is another way out that has been blocked. If it could be opened up, that would be the best solution to the problem.
There should be legislation where they are reguired to disconnect cars between crossings if they have to stop before they get to their depot. How hard is that!!!
I sometimes fantasize about the movie Falling Down. Traffic was holding him up and he had just acquired a rocket launcher (LAW M72). After a little boy on a bike who was passing by shows him how to use it, he clears up the road equipment blocking the road.
I any politician lived north of this intersection, an overpass would have been constructed years ago.
@ JEB
I was born and raised in Cottage Hill. I joined the Air Force and wound up in Plattsmouth NE. I was just relating a similar situation that recently almost created a scene due to BNSF stopping and blocking a track. I live less than 300 ft from a UP track here and am used to the rail problems.
Stuck by the train right now. Nothing makes me more angry!!Nothing makes me more angry!!! Nothing makes me more angry!!!Nothing makes me more angry!!!!!!!!!!!
Move the tracks across Highway 29 at least 100 yards south, then there may be enough room to put an overpass.
I know sounds too simple.
Reopen Elder’s Lane to Gonzalez.
a tunnel or viaduct so close to the intersection wud be a bit of an engineering nightmare. best just live with it. lifeflight, and hopefully local fire dept that cud access that blocked area somehow.
The Federal Government is the only one that can regulate the Railroad crossing. They have no rule regulating how long a train can block a crossing. If you buy property and build a house on it, that only has one way out over a railroad crossing, buyer beware. The land that the crossing is on, belongs to the railroad company. GO ONLINE and find this info.
David lamb, there are no BNSF trains or tracks in this area. CSX uses BNSF run through locomotives at times.
The law is they may not block a grade crossing for more than 10 minutes without moving. As long as there is movement every 10 minutes (it can be 3 feet) legally nothing anyone can do. If there is a mechanical issue, it can be much longer. The problem with getting the laws changed is railroads use the defence that the tracks were there before the roads, and in most cases that is true. We (I do not work for csx) do try to stay off crossings whenever possible.
I have called the Sheriff department several times while waiting for this train. They did nothing and said they couldn’t do anything. If you think CSX and the papermill give a rat’s behind your just kidding yourself. The railroad could care less and there is not a lot of urgency hooking up trains just because the road is blocked.
Good luck and don’t hold your breath. Two fat cats laughing at us.
Two years ago the new CEO of CSX moved to longer trains.
This is not s long term solution but why can’t there be a website we can go to to see the schedule each day of the time the train will be crossing certain intersections? Surely there is a schedule and they don’t just show up randomly. At least this would allow those affected by the train to leave early so as not to get blocked in or to take a different route when possible.
The railroads own the right-of-way everywhere in the country… it goes back to the original grant of land to them so that they would grow the country. They have been too smart to relinquish the right of way.
It is very frustrating, to say the least. Once the train blocked McKenzie, Williams Ditch Rd, Eden Lane, and Beck Lake road. I live off of Williams Dich Rd, and was on my way to work, and I couldn’t get out. I know some of the back roads in that area, but when they block all of those roads, you may as well either go home and wait, or read a book and wait.
I hate it but “You can’t fight the Railroad” they are to powerful..We ended up selling land that was landlocked by CSX…
If you don’t live out here understand what it means to be on your way home and the d*mn train is just sitting there. It doesn’t just cross the road it parks there ALL THE TIME and at the WORST TIMES! 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour, two hours! They don’t give a dang about the traffic! It just sits there and I get so IRATE I want to pull out my tire iron and go find someone in charge! Since nobody in power cares someone is going to fo something crazy one day.
Recently a BNSF train blocked a crossing here for more than 5 hours. residents were stranded so they took matters in to their own hands. They cut the padlock on a gate to a busy 4 lane. Sparks flew and LE wanted to arrest but prevailing minds let it go, Score 1 for local residents!
As with most problems in our county, we need to have a committee appointed to study the problem, hire some company to make suggestions and then after all is said or done NOTHING happens.
As on Fairfield Dr. build an overpass to solve the problem. Of course, that’ll cost $$$ and CSX, Escambia County and the State of Florida will balk at the idea as cows getting “dipped.”
The Federal Rail Safety Act of 1970 gave authority over railroads to the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration RECOMMENDS that trains not block crossings for more than 5 minutes, but federal laws don’t formally address blocked crossings.
In 2001, the U.S. Conference of Mayors urged the president and Congress to fix the problem and cited several cases where blocked intersections delayed ambulances or firefighters from reaching victims. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., introduced a bill that year to require the U.S. Department of Transportation to create rules to minimize delays. The bill died in committee.
In more than 30 states, cities and counties have passed laws to limit the amount of time that a train can block a railroad crossing. But those laws often have been overturned in federal courts that have ruled that only the federal government can regulate railroads.
Florida Statute 351.034 mandates when a RR Crossing must be opened to allow the passing of emergency vehicles, however, the statute provides exception due to mechanical failure.
“Currently, there is no Federal regulation on the amount of time an idle train may block a public highway-rail grade crossing, although states and localities are not precluded from enacting and enforcing their own applicable laws. Some courts, however, have found state blocked crossing laws and regulations to be preempted by federal requirements because… compliance with the state law negatively affects the railroad’s ability to comply with Federal regulations.”
people need to get over it, trains are a part of life anywhere you go. It could be worse
Years ago when my husband was a deputy, the train engineer was ticketed if the train kept an intersection blocked over a certain length of time. Of course, it didn’t take long for the judges to stop that. Money talks.
they do it in flomaton all the time. at one time the city would call them and they would move them. you can go around by way of stateline rd so it’s more of an annoyance.
Well … this is the road that leads into the proposed The BLUFFS project that has been heavily supported by state and local lawmakers and economic development gurus.
Anyone see a problem here???
(Becks Lake Rd is the eastern equivalent of Muscogee Rd from Highway 29.
The state has been improving Muscogee Rd. from the AL border in anticipation of this project.)
http://www.northescambia.com/2017/06/scott-signs-budget-with-3-1-million-for-the-bluffs-in-cantonment
..Steven Barry and Larry Walker need to get together…for 30 years, we could drive Elder lane and a road went out to Kathleen st. in Gonzalez..everybody who lived on Becks Lake rd knew about it and used it..Now ECUA ,has it all blocked off..there are roads thru there that could be connected ..dirt roads…all we need…there is no other way..one day , there will be a fire or other emergency…ECUA does not even use most of that property because of the hard clay pan..do something…
The problem has gotten worse since CSX startied running fewer trains, which means when we do get a train, it’s 3 times as long as they use to be. Then when something goes wrong they have to walk three miles of train to find out what the problem is, then walk walk back to get parts and tools, then back again to fix it. It’s a simple matter of profit over public concerns or safety for that matter.
The only way CSX is going to listen to
anyone is for people to contact the FRA
in Atlanta Ga. and file an officual complaint………..
A lettler from our county commissior would
be a great help………….
JLSeale
I KNOW THAT WE ALL DEPEND ON RAILROAD IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER BUT IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO BLOCKING HWY 29 AT MILL OR OLD PALAFOX AT OLD CHEMSTRAND RD. OR KINGSFIELD OR 9 MILE RD. AT 5.00 TO 5.30 HAS GOT OUT OF HAND . I HAVE LIVED AT CANTOMENT OVER 47 YEAR’S AND IT WASN’T BAD . SO THE RAILROAD NEED’S TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE THEIR SCHEDULE IAND DO SOMETHING . NOT CALLING E.M.S. IS WRONG AND IF THEY WERE FINED EVERYTIME THEN SOMEONE WOULD PICK THE PHONE UP
This has become commonplace now in Cantonment and a huge irritant.
CSX has always been bad at blocking roads with stopped trains. They use to block Quintette Hwy until everyone complained enough. I hope the complaints will stop this crossing from being blocked again as well.
Simply put, the railroad has more money than anyone else around there. As long as they keep lining the pockets of your elected officials there will never be anything done about it.
Since when does CSX care anything about anything other than money,Their money to be more precise. Those trains have been blocking residents from their homes or jobs for over 20 years. I know because when I was building my house on McKenzie, I was forced to wait for it to move in 1998. Its crazy that the railroad stops up HWY 29 for several miles during rush hour almost daily. They could change delivery times to the mill to much later in the night. People do work there 24 hours a day.
Happens on regular basis, csx needs to be fined everytime this happens
Yes they need to do something made me extremely late to work do the train blocking
That is not the Only crossing the R.R. blocks, but historically they were here first. But in addition to this, Big business has always ruled until the Courts intervened!
I was always told that it was against the law for the railroad to block the road. It happens in Flomaton all the time.