The search for solutions to chronic freight train delays in Blue Island and other communities is gathering steam, with a state House committee advancing a bill that imposes a 10-minute limit on moving trains that block Cook County crossings during morning and afternoon rush hours.
Current restrictions apply only to stopped trains, and the bill’s Senate sponsor, state Sen. Robert Molaro (D-Chicago), has argued that the railroad industry needs a stronger incentive to keep crossings clear.
“We already have a suggestion in state law,” said Molaro, whose constituents have long complained about 50-minute delays near Archer and Central Avenues in his Southwest Side district. “This suggestion will have a club with it.”
The bill allows up to $1,500 in fines per violation, said Molaro, which means that a train that blocks three intersections could incur three $1,500 fines, depending on the length of the delays.
While Molaro’s measure moves next week to the floor of the House, where it has been taken up by state Rep. Daniel Burke (D-Chicago), another, even more aggressive bill was voted down in committee Thursday.
The bill sponsored by state Sen. Patrick O’Malley (R-Palos Park) would have allowed a jail sentence for executives of railroad companies that repeatedly violate ordinances limiting crossing times.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” said state Rep. James Brosnahan (D-Evergreen Park) of the nearly unanimous “no” vote on the bill he presented Thursday to the House executive committee. “Between the two bills, the other one was considered less onerous by the railroad industry. . . . I know we got their attention, and hopefully, there will be change.”
O’Malley and Brosnahan have been working for months with Blue Island officials, federal railroad authorities and railroad executives on reducing train delays at intersections along 127th Street that cross tracks leading into a busy railroad yard.
Railroad representatives have acknowledged that the booming economy has taxed the rail system, causing backups of 30 minutes or more that inconvenience and infuriate drivers and pedestrians.
The nearly predictable delays have even prompted children to risk jumping between stalled cars to get to and from school, and residents have openly worried about the students’ safety.
The backups in Blue Island will taper off by the end of May or early June, when mechanical improvements in a major yard’s switching system are complete, said Gary Wollenhaupt, director of corporate communications for CSX Transportation, a Jacksonville-based company that has been fined by Blue Island for excessive delays.
“It should help considerably,” said Wollenhaupt, adding that the company also has earmarked $150,000 for a study regarding possible overpasses at Western Avenue and 127th Street.
Meanwhile, Blue Island officials recently met with representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration to brainstorm about other possible solutions.
Adding personnel to the switching yard is among suggestions that will be discussed with CSX over the next few weeks, according to Patti Smith, crossing and trespass regional manager for the Federal Railroad Administration.
Wollenhaupt said the new switching system would eliminate the need for extra personnel.
Meanwhile, if the state legislature decides to set stricter standards, the railroad industry will work to meet them, Wollenhaupt said.
“Whether the railroads will be able to do it consistently is the big question,” he said. “The best thing in the long term would be (to build) more overpasses.”