CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Two railroad companies will not change train speeds or schedules, despite the town’s request they consider those two options after a teenager was critically injured at a crossing last month, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
“Slowing the trains down would block the crossings for longer periods of time, creating additional problems without any new increase in safety,” wrote Michael A. Paras, superintendent of transportation for Union Pacific Railroad, in a letter sent to town officials Dec. 20.
“It is not feasible to run freight trains so that trains do not go through downtown Castle Rock during times you requested. Trains travel all over the system and doing this would cause delays and backups all around the Union Pacific’s system.”
Bob Watts, public works director for Castle Rock, said he wasn’t surprised at the response.
“I didn’t hold out a whole lot of hope for major changes in their operations,” he said Thursday. “The railroads are sympathetic, but they have a different agenda altogether and understandably so.”
On Nov. 12, a Union Pacific train collided with Maureen “Missy” Martin’s car, which had stalled on the tracks on Fifth Street.
The 16-year-old is undergoing rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood.
Earlier this month, Town Manager Mark Stevens sent a letter to both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, asking that the companies look into the feasibility of slowing their trains in Castle Rock and modifying their schedules.
Stevens asked that trains not go through the town between 7 and 8:30 a.m. and between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. to avoid rush-hour traffic.
In letters dated Dec. 20, both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern wrote they could not make the requested changes.
Paul Hoferer, vice president and general counsel for Burlington Northern, also argued that slowing trains would make crossings more dangerous.
“In fact, many grade crossing accidents occur at speeds lower than 30 miles per hour,” he wrote. “Decreasing the speed of trains causes blocked crossings for greater time periods. Blocked crossings contribute to driver frustration and attempts to ‘beat the train’ often coincide with such frustration.”
Both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern officials said they would be willing to work with the town on an underpass or overpass for the crossing, closing one or more crossings, and helping educate the public about railroad-crossing safety.
Watts said the city is proceeding with a proposal for a $7 million flyover connecting Front and Perry streets, bypassing the Fifth Street railroad crossing.
The flyover is part of a transportation master plan that is being reviewed by three city committees and is expected to go to the Planning Commission and the Town Council for approval next month.
David Martin, Maureen Martin’s father, said he is disappointed by the railroads’ response.
“By their own statistics, it’s the most dangerous crossing in Douglas County,” he said Thursday. “I would have thought they would take that a little more seriously.”
He said he understands why trains wouldn’t want to slow down, but he said he hoped the railways would reconsider the schedule change.
“I don’t understand why they can’t do that,” he said.
As for the railroads’ other suggestion, “public education wouldn’t have helped in this situation at all,” he said.
He said he is in favor of building a flyover for the crossing.