Can a train block an intersection for long? Here’s what California law has to say
Have you ever found yourself in a gridlock waiting for a train to cross, wondering how long you’ll be stuck?
California had a law that addressed this time-consuming, anxiety-inducing traffic stopper. But it doesn’t help your average driver today. According to a 1974 California Public Utilities Commission general order, trains could only block a public crossing for 10 minutes. However, railroad companies have fought similar rules across the country — and won.
Just last year, The Oklahoman newspaper reported that federal courts upheld a 2020 order stating that “a statue that tells railroads companies how long they may stop their trains — for whatever ends — intrudes on the territory reserved to the ICCTA (Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act).”
The first appellate court case to prevent such statues occurred in 2012.
“These statutes were pre-empted by the Federal Railroad Safety Act by a number of appellate courts throughout the U.S.,” said Terrie Prosper, a California Public Utilities Commission spokesperson, in an email to The Bee.
However, there is no federal law regulating the “length of time that a crossing can be blocked,” Prosper said.
Now, California is watching what the U.S. Supreme Court will do next.
“There is currently an (writ of certiorari) pending before the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to weigh in on state needs to regulate crossings, and the public safety concerns that it raises for local communities,”
“We are monitoring that activity closely.”
You can still report a stalled train
You can however, the Federal Railroad Administration told The Bee, report a train that’s been blocking an intersection for a prolonged period of time.
Reporting a stopped train to the FRA will help the agency collect data to study the issue and target solutions in areas that experience repeated blocked crossings, said William Wong, a spokesperson at the Federal Railroad Administration in an email. The forum can be found on the FRA website.
“The agency has long assisted communities and railroads in jointly identifying solutions, especially in cases where emergency response access is a concern,” Wong said.
The agency website takes its users to a mapped website where they can search a train crossing by searching a street name. Once you select the crossing, you’ll fill out a questionnaire and submit the report.