CSX officials reported the train, which stopped in the morning rush hour time, had blocked the two residential crossings for several hours because “the train crew reached the maximum hours of service allowed under federal law, thus requiring a new crew to be brought in to operate the train.”
Federal law limits a train crew to work for 12 consecutive hours.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, the crossings were still blocked.
The Journal-News initially reported the train was stopped because it was broken down, as stated by the Hamilton Police Department, but later on Monday afternoon it was confirmed the train was not stopped due to any mechanical issue. Information regarding the train crew was released around 1 p.m. Monday, several hours after the police department issued a statement that the train was to resume operations mid-morning Monday.
CSX officials in the 1 o’clock hour Monday stated they expected the train “to be moving within the next couple of hours.”
The company’s media team released a statement, stating, “CSX strives to be a good neighbor in communities where we operate.”
The statement further read: “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused Hamilton residents. Our goal is to safely and efficiently move freight for our customers while working to limit the impact of our operations on motorists, pedestrians, and surrounding communities.”
This is the third issue with a CSX train in the past six weeks. In addition to the train blockages on Monday and this past Wednesday, there was a train derailment on the morning of May 27. The derailment at Walnut Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard led to the closures of a number of area streets and railroad crossings but all were reopened that afternoon.
The past two incidents come on the heels of Hamilton officials meeting with CSX officials about trains blocking city grade crossings. CSX spokeswoman Cindy Schild told the Journal-News last week that the rail company is “reviewing our operations in the area” in order to cooperate with not only Hamilton but other Butler County communities. Blocked train crossings are not an issue exclusive to Hamilton.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, Ohio has the most reported incidents with trains in the country, with nearly 5,200 from Dec. 31, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2021. CSX has the most reported incidents in the country, according to the FRA.
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