(The following report by Chelsea Hover appeared on the News 8-Austin website on December 10.)
AUSTIN, Texas — People who live and work in Granger are worried that a train stalled on the tracks could be deadly in an emergency.
Most people don’t have a problem with the 15 to 18 trains passing daily through the Williamson County town. It’s when they’re stopped for a long period of time that has people concerned.
“Occasionally they’ll come through here and block all three crossings. When that happens, you have to go several miles out of the way to get to the other side,” resident Vince Batla said.
Just last week, a train stopped in town for eight days, blocking two of the three intersections.
“It makes it extremely difficult for emergency services. The only way they can get through is go about two miles out of town and circle back around,” resident Vance Dubec said.
It’s an inconvenience for emergencies great and small.
“I’ve got small kids, and if you’re in the car and they need to use the restroom and the train’s right here, it’s very inconvenient,” Taylor resident Frances Rojas said.
Union Pacific spokesperson Joe Arbona admits it is a challenge for them to keep trains from blocking railroad crossings. He said whenever there’s a maintenance issue or an accident anywhere on the tracks, every train in front of and behind it is forced to stop.
With 32,000 miles of tracks and 34,000 railroad crossings, the odds are, a crossing will be blocked.
When asked about the trains blocking crossings for days on end, Arbona said: “That doesn’t sound right. We don’t block crossings for days. We don’t do that.”
But Mayor Jerry Lalla disagrees. He told the police department to ticket the train for blocking a state highway. So every three hours, for four days straight Union Pacific was cited. Lalla says they got about 52 tickets in all.
Arbona added that the only way to alleviate problems like blocked crossings is with the public’s help. He said anyone who sees a blocked railroad crossing, should call the Union Pacific toll free hotline at (888) 877-7267.