From The Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — The bill to prohibit trains from blocking railroad crossings has passed the house on Tuesday, March 1.
According to Representative Danny Garrett, the bill passed the house with a 95 to 1 vote, and now it will go to the Senate.
“It’s passed my house now moves to the Senate,” Garrett said. “So if the Senate passes it that it will go to the governor. So it has to go to a Senate committee if the Senate committee gives it a favorable report then it will go to the full Senate, and the Senate would then vote, and if it passes the Senate, it goes to the governor.”
Garrett said many members went to the podium to share their stories of similar incidents that were happening in their districts that have happened in Trussville.
“This was really not just a Trussville issue, it was a statewide issue,” Garrett said. “It is a statewide issue. People share the frustration we have in Trussville, and that we’re looking for some solutions.”
The bill only opposes a fine if the railroads are stopped for more than two hours because of things that are in their control.
“If it’s a mechanical failure, or a derailed line, or something on the track, or something not within their control, it doesn’t apply,” Garrett said. “If they, through poor management, cause these blockages at these crossings, then all they have to do is either break the train at the crossing to allow cars to cross or pay a fine.”
Garett said railroad companies can avoid either of those, if they do proper scheduling, and don’t block the crossings.
“That’s cheap, that’s doable, that’s very doable, and within their control, and many of the railroad companies have adjusted their practices to significantly reduce that occurring all over the state,” Garrett said. But, unfortunately, one railroad, in particular, continues to operate without giving consideration to the unusual times or in the unusual factors, the labor shortage, and supply chain issues. They need to adjust for that as they do their planning, like the other railroads.”
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The bill was read for the first time and introduced to the House of Representatives on Thursday, January 13. The bill states that it “would provide that, except for trains stopped due to mechanical failure where separation or movement is not possible, and except for trains stopped as required by federal law, any train that has come to a complete stop and is blocking a railroad-highway grade crossing shall be cut, separated, or moved to clear the crossing upon the approach of any authorized emergency vehicle.”
Related Story: UPDATE: Bill to prohibit trains from blocking railroad crossings passes out of committee
If a train is found to be blocking a crossing, this “bill would deem the operator of a train that blocks a railroad-highway grade crossing for two or more continuous hours to be a public nuisance and would levy a civil penalty of $5,000 for each additional hour the train blocks the railroad-highway grade crossing. The civil penalty would be limited to $50,000 per day.”
Related Story: Bill filed to prohibit trains from blocking railroad crossings
Garrett said the railroad companies claim the problem is related to the supply chain and the labor force.
“What they were doing was loading up trains, which they had a problem with trying to get trains loaded, but they were loading trains and just sending them to the destination,” Garrett said in an earlier interview. “But the problem was, they didn’t have workers there to unload the trains, while they had bottlenecks, because of supply chain issues, all the train schedules were off. It was a logistical nightmare.”
The bill states that if the railroad crossing were blocked, law enforcement and emergency medical services would not be able to reach people in need. These roadways remaining open to first responders is considered “a primary and essential service to the health and well-being of the people of the State of Alabama,” because “the fast response by law enforcement officers and firefighters is often the difference between life and death or permanent disability to those persons in the State of Alabama making use of such services in an emergency.”
Related Story: Railroad representatives respond to bill prohibiting railroad crossing blockages
“My problem was, they didn’t have a plan to play around those logistics,” Garrett said in an earlier interview. “I understand about scheduling and bottlenecks, but when you know you got all those problems in front of you, you have to plan around it. What their solution was, ‘we’re just going to send all the trains we can when they’re ready.’ In the case of Trussville, you had a train that was blocking a crossing for ten days.”
The story will be updated when more information is available.