I-TEAM: Blocked rail crossing traps members of local community in neighborhood several times a month
People living in one Clark County community say trains are stopping on the tracks in their neighborhood for hours, blocking the only way in or out.
This is happening along Wynn Road in Mad River Twp. and people living in the neighborhood have shared serious concerns with the I-Team’s lead investigator, John Bedell.
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Debbie Reynolds said she loves her neighborhood, except when she gets trapped there.
“It’s a bad feeling knowing that you can’t get in or out,” she said.
She said trains that stop on the Norfolk Southern Railroad block the only way on or off her block two or three times a month. When it happens, it cuts off their neighborhood.
As we showed you on News Center 7 at 5:00, Reynolds shared photos from a train she said blocked the crossing for hour hours Monday afternoon. She had seen the I-Team’s previous reports on this problem and decided to reach out. But before she did that, neighbors said they had called Norfolk Southern, too.
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“Most of us have contacted the railroad about this issue several times over the year,” Ron Frazier said.
It’s caused missed doctor appointments, missed school buses, and impacted the residents’ jobs.
“They’ve caused delays for us getting to work on time and the consequences that come with that,” Frazier said.
People in the neighborhood shared their worries about how this could impact first responders who may need to get back there for an emergency.
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“That’s four hours that somebody had a heart attack and we can’t do anything to save them,” Frazier said. “That’s four hours if a house caught on fire, it’s going to burn to the ground.”
The I-Team reached out to Norfolk Southern about this issue. A spokesperson sent the I-Team the following statement:
“Norfolk Southern makes every effort to avoid inconveniencing a community with a stopped train. Though there are a number of reasons a train may have to stop, our goal is to keep our trains moving safely. Teams within our Network Operations Center make every effort to minimize these instances. We also partner with communities to identify short-term and permanent solutions such as overpasses and closing crossings, where it makes sense. That includes contributing funds directly to communities and helping them to apply for infrastructure grants.”
