Martinez Hosting Town Hall Meeting With Union Pacific Railroad

MARTINEZ, CA — Officials from the city of Martinez and the Union Pacific Railroad will be on hand for a town hall meeting Tuesday night at which issues of trains blocking two key railroad crossings will be discussed.

State law dictates that a train can block a public rail crossing for no more than 10 minutes at a time. But blockages of 20 minutes and longer have been an issue in Martinez for years.

There are two grade crossings where this has been a problem — Ferry Street (the main entrance to Waterfront Park and its trails, marina, bocce courts and ball fields) — and, especially, Berrellesa Street.

The trains that usually create the problems are not the frequent Amtrak trains, but rather freight trains switching cars at the east end of the Union Pacific's Ozol freight-staging yard, west of the city along the waterfront.

The meeting has been in the making for many months. The city will make a presentation about the problem, and Union Pacific officials will then discuss rail operations and why there are blockages. A question-and-answer session involving the city, Union Pacific and representatives of U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, will follow.

The town hall meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29 at Martinez City Hall, 525 Henrietta St.

By Bay City News Service

Patch file photo by Maggie Avants