A train crosses an intersection Nov. 11 along County Road 45 in Elkhart County. A growing economy has led to delays for motorists and trains. SBT Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES
By the numbers
100 — Estimated number of trains passing daily through northern Indiana on Norfolk Southern lines
147 — Number of citations the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department had issued as of Thursday for blocked crossings
100 — Number of conductors Norfolk Southern plans to add to Elkhart yard by January
$160 million — Cost of the expansion to an Ohio yard supposed to relieve Elkhart’s congestion
SOURCE: Norfolk Southern Corp. and Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department
SOUTH BEND — Train delays seem to be improving in Elkhart County.
But the frustrations motorists feel when stuck at a blocked crossing is ongoing.
About 100 trains a day pass through northern Indiana on the Norfolk Southern Corp. route between Chicago and eastern destinations like Cleveland, New York and Washington, D.C.
In the past year, those trains have become longer because a rebounding economy has led to an uptick in the amount of goods shipped by rail. That increase and congestion near the Elkhart rail yard and backups in Chicago have led to more unplanned stops, which block crossings and leave motorists fuming.
In Dunlap, where railroad tracks run parallel to U.S. 33 between Elkhart and Goshen, the three main crossings were blocked so frequently this summer that Robyn Chiddister, a lifelong Dunlap resident, started the Facebook page Take Back Dunlap as a way for locals to vent about it. The page currently has 1,165 followers.
The situation became serious enough that the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department began issuing citations to trains that sit at crossings too long.
Indiana law mandates that trains cannot block a crossing for longer than 10 minutes, though the law makes exceptions for mechanical or other issues deemed out of the railroad’s control. As of Thursday, county police had issued 147 citations, said Capt. James Bradberry of the department. Since each violation is fineable up to $500, total fines could run as high as $73,500. An initial court date is being scheduled in Elkhart County for the end of this month, he said.
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