Stalled freight trains cause problems for American communities

Hammond, Ind. (NewsNation) — The railroad industry has been under intense scrutiny since the February train derailment and fire in East Palestine, Ohio. But recently, Americans have been speaking out about the inconvenience stalled freight trains cause in their daily lives, sometimes having deadly consequences.

People across the country have spoken with NewsNation about the life-and-death challenges they say these train companies are forcing them to endure.

In Hammond, Indiana, a small community has been dealing with blocked railroad crossings daily. The stalled trains have forced families to make tough decisions as part of their everyday life.

When trains run through Hammond, it is likely they will idle on the tracks for nearly 30 minutes, blocking the only crossroad within a mile radius.

“You can see him sit for 15, 20, 30 — as long as over a day, and that’s ridiculous,” Hammond resident Lamira Samson said.

These long delays have become a regular part of the community’s daily routine, residents told NewsNation, especially for the neighborhood’s youngest residents.

A recent report by ProPublica documented the moments children had to climb over a stalled train to make it to school on time. It’s a choice Samson, a mom, said she grapples with every time she hears the train whistle.

However, Norfolk Southern told NewsNation in a statement that it had not had any recent issues at this crossing:

“We continue to work closely on this issue with local elected officials. We have not recently had an issue at this crossing.”

But when Samson sees a train car approach, a whole set of questions pops into her head.

“Like, oh man, it stopped. It’s like, so how am I going to do this this morning? Am I going to let him stay home? Am I going to walk over there to see exactly where the train is to see if I can get around, or what? she said.

This internal struggle is shared by thousands of other Americans across the country.

Research revealed that these trains impact smaller, blue-collar communities, and it has only gotten worse in recent years.

According to the Department of Transportation, there have been more than 24,000 reports of blocked crossings in the U.S. over the past year.

Nearly 30% of these trains blocked these crossings for up to 6 hours at a time, and 18% of the blocked crossings prevented first responders from getting to their emergency situations in a timely manner.

In some cases, blocked railroad crossings even end in tragedy — and litigation.

In Oklahoma, Linda Byrd is fighting for justice for her husband of nearly 50 years.

Gene Byrd died in 2020 after suffering a heart attack at their home in Noble. The family said EMTs responded to the 911 call but could not get to him in time because of an idling freight train.

By the time emergency responders were able to make it to the Byrds’ home, Gene was dead.

One mother in Legget, Texas, is fighting Union Pacific Railroad after her 11-month-old son died. Monica Franklin told NewsNation that her son K’Twon Franklin was unresponsive after she put him down for a nap.

She called 911 but a stalled train delayed the aid he needed. K’Twon died in the hospital three days later.

In a statement from Union Pacific, the company said it was in the early phases of litigation discovery and was investigating the overall factual timeline of events, including whether the presence of a train had any impact on first responders’ ability to revive K’Twon.

“Our hearts go out to K’Twon’s family on this tragic situation,” the statement said. “We understand the impact blocked crossings have for community residents and work diligently to reduce the amount of time trains occupy the crossing.”

“I wish I could say that was the first and only time that the ambulance has not been able to get to people on the other side of the tracks,” Denise Mayo said. “That’s not true. It happens over and over again.”

Many of the residents impacted by these stalled trains aren’t just living with dangerous disruptions, but are trying to hold these railroad companies accountable and make real change happen.

“They get by with it because there’s actually no recourse to hold them responsible,” Mayo said.

Mayo runs a Facebook group in St. Clair County, Alabama, chronicling her and her neighbors’ struggle of resolving the issues trains bring to their area. She said these trains hold them hostage, blocking their only way out of the neighborhood.

“My Facebook group is to keep pressure on the politicians and keep pressure on the train companies, to make sure that their feet are still being held to the fire,” she said.

But Mayo said little progress has been made to remedy the stalled trains situation in her hometown; which echoes the same sentiments experienced in Hammond. Both communities were promised an alternate route around.

“I was like, ‘Finally, we’re getting somewhere. We’re going to get all this solved,'” Mayo said. “The route still has not been built. They still have not started on it.”

Now, many Americans from small towns across the country are calling on the federal government to hold these railroad companies accountable.

“The way I look at it, railroads don’t look out for the residents, they just look out for themselves,” Samson said.

“They’ve been sued and lost lawsuits over this continuous blocking. The laws need to change,” Mayo said.

There are currently no federal laws or rules pertaining to blocked crossings. However, some in power are trying to change that.

Lawmakers in Washington have promised action, but now, that effort could be in trouble. A bipartisan bill drafted in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment has been stalled. Some Senate GOP leaders believe the current version of the bill puts too many new regulations on the rail industry.

But other Republicans, including the bill’s sponsor Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, say it’s a “no-brainer” solution and are pushing to garner support.