![]() ![]() Hammond essentially serves as a parking lot for Norfolk Southern's trains, creating a problem so pressing that Indiana plans to spend $14 million - about $10 million of which is coming from federal grants - to build an overpass for cars. They could also build shorter trains that fit into railyards so their tail ends don't block towns' crossings. Rail companies around the country could better coordinate their schedules, parking trains far from schools that are in session. He said that the company is in "constant communication" with local officials, and that representatives will discuss any proposed fixes with Hammond. (ProPublica reporters witnessed trains in Hammond start moving without warning.) Spielmaker said that train schedules vary so much that giving Hammond one might not be helpful. The company will also review its procedures to see whether its trains can give louder warnings before they start moving. He said Norfolk Southern is working to identify an area where trains can stage further down its line and to have less impact on the community. And Hammond is a suburb of Chicago, which is the busiest train hub in the nation, creating congestion up and down the network. He said trains routinely sit in Hammond for a number of reasons: That section of track is between two busy train intersections that must remain open Norfolk Southern can't easily move a train backward or forward, because that would cut off the paths for other trains, which could belong to other companies. And they know that many of their parents commute to work an hour away to Chicago, trusting older brothers or sisters to pick up or drop off their siblings. They know some are hungry and don't want to miss breakfast the vast majority in this 86% Black and Latino district qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. The adults entrusted with their safety - parents and teachers, police and fire officials, the mayor - say they are well aware of the pressures on students' minds when they face a blocked crossing on foot. Brandi Odom, a seventh grade teacher, estimates that at least half her class is delayed by trains multiple times a week. Teachers must watch multiple classrooms while their colleagues wait at crossings kids sit on school buses as they meander the streets of an entirely different city to be dropped off a half-hour late. The trains, which can stretch across five or six intersections at a time in this working-class suburb of 77,000, prevent students and teachers from getting to school in the morning. Jeremiah Johnson climbs over a parked freight train on his way to school. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |