(Reuters circulated the following article by Nick Carey on October 15.)
MILLADORE, Wis. — The woman who lives in the white frame house near the railroad tracks is not happy to see Rodney Kreunen and even less happy about the demolition work on the road that used to cross the tracks.
“There were no problems with that road, almost no one used it,” she said curtly, without introducing herself. Then, as quickly as she had appeared from the small house with a large plaster Jesus in the front yard, she was gone.
The bespectacled Kreunen was unfazed.
“That’s nothing. You should see the angry ones,” the 70-year-old Wisconsin state rail commissioner said, smiling broadly. “People don’t like going out of their way, so it’s not easy persuading them crossing closures are a good idea.”
Kreunen is responsible for closing the road at the tracks in this central Wisconsin town of fewer than 300 people. He is one of a growing number of local U.S. government and rail officials committed to eliminating as many lesser-used rural rail crossings as possible.
The aim is to avoid accidents and keep rail traffic moving, as rising demand for coal and U.S. imports from China strain the country’s rail network capacity.
BNSF has closed more than 3,000 crossings since 2000 and officials says the company intends to continue apace.
“Anytime you reduce interaction between the public and trains, it’s a good thing,” said railroad analyst Tony Hatch of New York-based ABH Consulting.
TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS
With 240,000 rail crossings in the United States, safety improvements have contributed to a significant reduction in accidents involving motorists. In 2005, there were 3,010 resulting in 355 deaths, down from 12,126 collisions and 917 fatalities in 1975, according to industry data.
Kreunen said the figures are still way too high.
Both his grandfathers died in train accidents, one in 1893, when a boiler blew up; the other fell between rail cars in 1908 when a coupling broke. This is part of his motivation.
“I hate accidents and what they do to people,” he said, adding that long-term, some 500 of Wisconsin’s more than 4,000 rail crossings should be closed.
Strategically, the Milladore crossing is a good example of one officials say should be closed. With it gone, the street becomes a cul de sac, and a second road is so close, the only inconvenience is that residents must drive an extra quarter mile, Kreunen said.
There are two other crossings in Milladore, both of which are being upgraded with flashing lights, bells and gates.
In most rural areas crossings are marked only with simple warning signs called crossbucks, and upgrades with lights and gates can cost up to $250,000.
Covering costs is an issue, with rail companies responsible for tracks, and towns for crossings. Kreunen said more railroads must follow the example of No. 2 U.S. railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) by helping small communities pay for closures.
Indeed, Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) has contributed funds toward the Milladore closing.
Joe Whitt, head of Canadian National’s regional dispatch center in Stevens Point, around 15 miles from Milladore, says crossing closures have made his job easier.
“An accident shuts us down, simple as that,” says Whitt, explaining that the area network is mostly single-track. “With ever more traffic on the rails, we can’t afford that.”
To close down more crossings, Kreunen said more railroads are going to have to “open their checkbooks” like BNSF.
Officials were unable to say how much has been spent so far, but the Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad plans to close more than 400 of its 27,000 remaining crossings this year.
“We feel that the fewer crossings out there, the better,” said BNSF vice president for safety Mark Shulze.
He said that one of the main obstacles to closing crossings is opposition from residents.
“Americans are used to convenience,” Shulze said. “They don’t like having to go an extra quarter mile.”
He cited a law passed this year in Nebraska — mandating closure of any crossing marked only with crossbucks that is within a quarter of a mile of a crossing with bells, lights or gates — as the way forward.
Jill Becker, legal counsel for the Nebraska state legislature’s transportation and communications committee said the new law “should have a significant impact” on efforts to remove some of the state’s 6,237 rail crossings.
“With that kind of support from local government, closing crossings would be much easier,” BNSF’s Shulze said.