(The following story by Seth Tupper appeared on The Daily Republic website on February 5.)
MITCHELL, S.C. — Burlington Northern Santa Fe will increase the maximum speed of its trains through Mitchell from 10 mph to 20 mph this week.
The change will become effective at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. City officials were notified Monday afternoon.
“I’m not sure we have much say in it,” Tim McGannon, the city’s public works director, told the City Council Monday evening at City Hall.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, McGannon’s suspicion is correct. A spokesman for that agency told The Daily Republic that BNSF can increase its speed as long as its track meets the requirements for the speed.
Gus Melonas, a Seattle-based BNSF spokesman, told The Daily Republic by phone earlier Monday that upgrades were made to the line late last year. He said the increased speed is needed for “enhanced efficiency,” but he did not elaborate. He added that the increased speed will have some positive effects for the public.
“At public crossings, wait times will be cut by up to half,” Melonas said, “and this does not jeopardize safety.”
The track actually is engineered to handle speeds up to 25 mph, Melonas said, which according to federal standards would classify it as a Class 2 freight track. The Class 1 speed limit is 10 mph; then it’s 25 mph for Class 2, 40 mph for Class 3 and so on.
The BNSF line snakes about six miles through Mitchell from the southeast to the northwest parts of the city. McGannon said Monday evening that the proposal will affect crossings at Spruce Street near Mitchell Technical Institute; across East Havens Avenue near the former Dakota Pork plant; across Minnesota Street; across Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue near the state Highway 37 bypass; across Eighth Avenue near Ohlman Street; and across 23rd Avenue, which is commonly referred to as Cemetery Road.
Not all of the crossings have signals, McGannon said. He added that none of the crossings have gates and said the city may want to request them.
McGannon said that, according to a railroad official, about 10 trains travel through Mitchell daily. Melonas said there are no plans for increased traffic.
Federal records show 12 accidents or incidents on BNSF tracks in Davison County during the past 10 years, resulting in no fatalities and five “nonfatal conditions.”
Six of the accidents were derailments. Two were highway-rail incidents, defined as any impact between a rail and a highway user at a crossing site, regardless of severity, and including motor vehicles and other highway, roadway or sidewalk users at both public and private crossings.
The remaining four were classified as “other accidents/incidents,” which include events other than train accidents or crossing incidents that caused a nonfatal condition to any person. This can include trespassing incidents, getting on and off equipment, doing maintenance work, throwing switches, setting handbrakes, stumbling, tripping, etc.
Melonas said that, as always, the public should be cautious around tracks and trains.
“Whether speeds are 10 or 20 mph,” Melonas said, “we encourage the public to please be aware that trains can’t stop. You should expect movement from a train on any track, at any time, in any direction.”