(The following article by Brian Aberback was posted on NorthJersey.com on March 29.)
TEANECK, N.J. — A freight company whose idling locomotives are the bane of some township residents has pledged to curb the trains’ rumbling engines and choking diesel fumes.
CSX Corp.’s promise comes one month after a heated public hearing at which residents assailed the company for allowing trains to idle in residential neighborhoods for hours on end.
Residents would prefer that the trains no longer stop in town, but CSX representatives said that’s not possible. Instead, idling locomotives that must stay in Teaneck for an extended period will be shut down after two hours – at least during the warmer months.
“Although we cannot do everything Teaneck requests, we can do some things,” CSX community relations official William Goetz wrote in a letter this month to Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, and Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex.
The two-hour rule could pose a problem in the winter. Shutting down an idling train engine when the temperature is less than 45 degrees could cause engine damage. CSX will develop a winter protocol later this year, Goetz said.
CSX appeared before the Transportation Committee in Teaneck last month at Weinberg’s request. Residents have been complaining for five years that the trains, which sometimes have idled more than a day, are shaking their windows, polluting the air and generally destroying their qualify of life.
Weinberg said she was encouraged by CSX’s letter but noted that the company has made similar commitments in the past.
“It’s a good first step, but we’re watching this with a little bit of cynicism,” Weinberg said. “We’ll see how it works.”
Deputy Mayor Deborah Veach also was cautiously optimistic. “I think they want to show some good faith, but I’m afraid it’s not going to be enough,” she said.
One Chestnut Avenue resident said two hours of idling is unacceptable.
“Would that be the same two hours that woke me up this morning?” asked Ron Schaumburg. He said he was awakened at 4 a.m. Monday by an idling train.
The CSX letter does not say anything about idling during specific hours.
CSX officials have said the booming freight industry is the main reason for the Teaneck layovers. They say there is not enough room for trains at ports and other destinations, so their locomotives idle until space becomes available.
Teaneck is an ideal spot for CSX because there are no grade crossings in town. That means the company needn’t worry about blocking vehicular traffic while locomotives idle.
Goetz said in the letter that the problem is a matter of finding “a balance between the lifestyles of our Teaneck neighbors and the demands placed on CSX by New Jersey’s customers.”
A $50 million improvement project that includes building more tracks, updating antiquated signal systems and creating more rail yard space is scheduled to begin this summer. But it could be years before the project is completed and residents see any benefits. The work is being funded jointly by CSX, Norfolk Southern Corp. and the state Department of Transportation.