(The following column by Jim Cain appeared on the Nashville Tennessean website on October 26. Cain is a former locomotive engineer and currently serves as a member of the CSX public affairs and safety team.)
NASHVILLE — As a former freight-rail locomotive engineer, I wanted to share my perspective about the debate under way in Greenbrier concerning the proposed closure of grade crossings in the community.
For nearly 10 years, my perspective on grade-crossing safety was shaped by what I saw through the front window of the locomotive I operated through dozens of communities just like Greenbrier.
The trains I operated passed through hundreds of grade crossings, and each week I saw scores of motorists try to “beat the train” through the grade crossing with their vehicles.
Many “won.” And some lost.
To give you a sense of the consequences when a car fails to “beat the train,” consider that the relative weight ratio between a fully loaded freight train and an automobile is equivalent to the weight ratio between that same automobile and a soda can.
A car hitting a soda can is like a freight train hitting a car — rarely does it turn out well for the soda can — or the car and its occupants.
Goals are safety and efficiency
For locomotive engineers, many of whom have been eyewitnesses to grade-crossing incidents, the idea that we shouldn’t close risky grade crossings in Greenbrier and improve existing infrastructure isn’t a debate about who’s right and who’s wrong — it’s about safety.
As more and more goods move throughout America by freight rail, CSX Transportation has two goals: to deliver those goods safely and efficiently.
The work our company is doing to improve track and certain grade crossings in and around Greenbrier helps achieve both of these objectives.
Improvements to our track take more trucks off area highways and reduce congestion. For every railcar of freight carried on a CSX train, three trucks are taken off area roads.
Still, we all recognize that there need to be places where automobiles can cross train tracks safely — it’s important for our commutes and for our communities.
Working in conjunction with state and local officials, CSX has studied this issue in Greenbrier.
Our team looked at vehicle traffic volumes and traffic flow on area roads before we proposed taking action. Now we seek to strike a balance: to close redundant risky grade crossings, upgrade the warning devices at other crossings, and minimize disruption in the community.
We believe that the proposal that CSX has provided to Greenbrier is the best possible option, with an added benefit — fewer grade crossings mean fewer train horns as CSX trains pass through town.
We recognize that road closures aren’t always popular, but we hope that area citizens will appreciate that closures don’t just benefit the railroad — they make our communities safer, as well.