Auburn has a problem with trains.
For the past year, trains on the CSX track that runs through the south side of town have blocked road crossings — most notably on S.R. 427 near Auburn Mobile Home Park.
On Oct. 6, when an exhaust fan caught fire at Nucor Fastener in St. Joe, emergency dispatchers called for response vehicles throughout DeKalb County. But when responders from Auburn set out toward the factory, they found a train parked in their way.
Other responders contained and extinguished the fire at Nucor quickly. But it’s not the first time an emergency response vehicle has been blocked by a train. Auburn Mayor Norm Yoder said he knows of at least two other times when a parked train has prevented an emergency vehicle from responding.
“It’s a potential disaster waiting to happen,” Yoder said. He has spoken with CSX representatives several times but has seen little change.
DeKalb Health EMS Director Brian Grogg said the occasional blockage isn’t a huge issue because there aren’t many EMS runs into Jackson Township. Plus, one ambulance is stationed south of the tracks in Garrett.
But Grogg said there is a potential for a bad situation with trains blocking road crossings. The worst-case scenario would be if the Garrett ambulance were already on another call and another emergency situation arose on the south side of the tracks.
“You wouldn’t get police out there for a long time if the Garrett ambulance was preoccupied,” Grogg said.
CSX representative Kristin Seay said in an email that train crews are limited to 12-hour shifts because of federal regulations. She said CSX plans to make crew changes in places that do not disrupt traffic, but sometimes delays or congestion prevent them from happening on time.
Seay said CSX will meet with local officials in the coming weeks to discuss the problem. She said the company understands the frustration and apologizes for the inconvenience to the community.
Noble County Commissioner Gary Leatherman said trains blocking roads is a daily occurrence in Avilla, where he works. Crossings can be blocked in Avilla for anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.
He said it had happened before in Albion, as well, but had never prevented an emergency vehicle from reaching a scene.
“If we have a problem with a blocked crossing, there’s usually a way around in the next mile or two,” he said.
However, if all three crossings in Albion were blocked, Leatherman said the entire city would be divided. Albion police said a train had a mechanical issue and blocked all three crossings in town on Aug. 30. Traffic was diverted to county roads outside of town.
Steuben County Commissioner Ron Smith said a train blocking a crossing is rare in Steuben County. Only one business in Fremont uses the train for freight, so trains mostly pass through towns with little inconvenience, he said.
“Our EMS people are clever enough that they could find a different crossing in the event that one is blocked,” Smith said.
In LaGrange County, the only crossing where a train might cause problems with road traffic is at an overpass, Commissioner Jac Price said. LaGrange County EMS Director Jeff Helmuth said emergency vehicles have problems with drivers not pulling over, but no problems with trains.
Grogg lives on the south side of the tracks in Auburn and said the blocking has become “ridiculous.” Yoder said the trains blocked the crossing frequently in the spring. The problem had lessened throughout the summer but is picking back up again.
“I wish it was under my control to fix,” Yoder said. “I just don’t know how.”