(The following story by Rick Yencer appeared on the Star Press website on May 21.)
EATON, Ind. — Starting Tuesday, Norfolk Southern will raise its track speed to 50 miles an hour to expedite as many as 30 trains through town a day.
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The train line will bump that speed up to 60 miles an hour next month.
“I think that is way too fast,” said Vicki Hargis, Eaton clerk-treasurer.
The current speed for freight trains on that track is 40 mph; 50 mph is the standard for most of Norfolk’s trains, according to Rudy Husband, spokesman for Norfolk Southern, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa.
The railroad has been working on that line that runs from Muncie to Fort Wayne this spring and improving crossings, including Harris Street and Indiana Avenue in Eaton.
Husband explained that 50 mph was the standard speed for most of Norfolk Southern’s trains, and 60 is the standard for intermodel trains. Track speeds are determined by how the track is maintained, according to Federal Railroad Administration standards.
Warning devices have been adjusted to activate for faster moving trains. Both crossings have warning gates and flashers.