(The following article by Linda Martz was posted on the Mansfield News Journal website on September 30.)
MANSFIELD, Ohio — Railroad companies may be pressured by the Richland County Task Force to solve safety problems at some crossings.
When the recently formed task force met last week, members discussed concerns they may address with railroad officials.
Discussions focused on Ashland Railway, a short-line railroad serving industry that work in Huron, Richland and Ashland counties.
Ashland Railway Inc. officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The task force spent considerable time last week discussing how to make sure drivers approaching rail grade crossings can see oncoming trains without having their view blocked by trees or tall crops. Under state law, railroad companies are responsible for removing vegetation within 600 feet of crossings or another reasonable distance determined by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Huron County Emergency Management Agency Director Bill Ommert told the Richland County task force while railroads generally trim foliage near crossings on request, officials in his county have had to “be persistent.”
“Railroad people are difficult to negotiate with. But if you push hard enough and keep after them, and involve the public,” he said.
Rudy Husband, director of public relations for Norfolk-Southern Railroad, said they had not received any vegetation complaints from government officials since the end of 2002.
“We feel we’ve had a pretty good working relationship with them,” he said. “If there are any outstanding issues, we’d like to get them resolved.”
If railroads don’t remove vegetation near a crossing, local officials may step in, fix the problem, then charge the company’s tax bill, under state law Commissioner Dan Hardwick said.
Ommert said Ashland Railway has “really had a problem on some of the vegetation,” especially in the Plymouth area, which straddles the Richland-Huron County line.
“The problem you have with that particular railroad is, they are way behind on their taxes,” Ommert said. “You can add it onto their railroad bill, but if they have not paid their taxes …”
Plymouth Village Administrator James Holloman said officials “caught flak” for entering Ashland Railway property to clear up trees on railway property near an elementary school.
Ommert said railroads can’t prevent local officials from entering their property to resolve a safety problem, as long as legal procedures are followed and the company is given at least 10 days to do the work itself.
But he said the Huron County task force gave Ashland Railway a more “realistic” 30 days to clear up foliage problems. “Every crossing for Ashland Railway, except one, had a vegetation problem because they hadn’t been cleaned up for 10, 15 years,” Ommert said.
The Plymouth official said he is concerned about a hole that has developed in asphalt on the approach to an Ashland Railway bridge on West Broadway.