CSX Train Blocks Mill Street Crossing — Again

PLYMOUTH, MI — A little more than a week after a CSX Transportation Corp. blocked the South Mill Street railroad crossing in Plymouth for nine hours, another train is stuck at the same spot Thursday.

At 10:27 a.m., the city sent a message to residents advising them of the blockage on Mill and the adjacent Ann Arbor Trail crossing. City officials said the CSX train had been sitting for two hours and that they expected it to remain blocked for several more hours until a new train crew comes to “move the short train.”

Ironically, U.S. Rep. Dave Trott Wednesday called on Congress to examine CSX Transportation trains blocking railroad crossings for extended periods of time, causing safety concerns and hindering emergency services across the country.

"Last week, after sending a letter to CSX's CEO regarding CSX trains blocking neighborhood railroad crossings for up to nine hours in my district, I was taken aback by the number of similar incidents across the country that have been brought to my attention,” Trott, a Birmingham Republican, said in a statement. “These incidents and the safety concerns that accompany them are not an isolated event but a national issue, one that should be scrutinized by Congress. I met with CSX in Washington and in my district over a year ago, and they promised to address this problem. If CSX will not take substantive steps to resolve this serious situation, we will."

Last week, Rep. Trott sent a letter to CSX CEO E Hunter Harrison after a CSX train blocked the Plymouth railroad crossing.

Plymouth City Manager Paul Sincock reminded residents via email that train companies like CSX are Federally regulated and there's little Plymouth can do, but complain to legislators. Besides contacting Trott as well as Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, Sincock urged residents to contact the company. He listed several numbers:

• CSX Railroad Emergency - 1-800-232-0144, Extension 1 to report crossing blocked.
• CSX Regional Vice President - Tom Livingston - 708-832-2169
• Federal Railroad Administration - 419-259-7570

Photo by Luke Sharrett / Stringer / Getty Images News / Getty Images