Kids are crawling under stopped railcars, and aren't the only ones with train problems; railways ignore requests for help

One child helps another cross over a parked freight train blocking their route
to school in Hammond, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Kelter Davis, ProPublica)

Watching a train go by used to be a relaxing pastime. But now they take longer to go by because they have gotten longer, and their stops block more streets, roads and pathways, no matter who or what needs to get through -- be it ambulances or students trying to walk to school, report Topher Sanders and Dan Schwartz of ProPublica and Joce Sterman of Gray Television. "Recent spectacular derailments have focused attention on train safety and whether the nation's powerful rail companies are doing enough to protect the public — and whether federal regulators are doing enough to make them, especially as the companies build longer and longer trains. . . . In Hammond, Indiana, reporters sat by a train blocking a school path and "witnessed dozens of students. . . . climbing over, squeezing between and crawling under train cars. . . An eighth-grade girl waited 10 minutes before she made her move, nervously scrutinizing the gap between two cars. She'd seen plenty of trains start without warning. 'I don't want to get crushed,' she said."

Multiple reports tell an ugly story: "Ambulances can't reach patients before they die or get them to the hospital in time. Fire trucks can't get through, and house fires blaze out of control. Pedestrians trying to cut through trains have been disfigured," ProPublica and Gray report. "An Iowa woman was dragged underneath until it stripped almost all of the skin from the back of her body. . . . In Hammond, the hulking trains of Norfolk Southern regularly force parents, kids and caretakers into an exhausting gamble: How much should they risk to get to school?"

Hammond's school district has "asked Norfolk Southern for its schedule so that the schools can plan for blockages and students can adjust their routines. The company has disregarded the requests, school officials said. . . . In written responses to questions, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said children climbing through their trains concerns the company," they write. The journalists showed footage of kids making the crossing, including an elementary student crawling under a train, to representatives of Norfolk Southern, lawmakers and Transportation Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg; "He was shocked" and said, "Nobody can look at a video with a child having to climb over or under a railroad car to get to school and think that everything is OK."

States and local authorities can issue citations to trains for blocking intersections longer than state laws or local ordinances allow, but after rail companies found a way to negotiate those fines, the practice was largely abandoned. "State and local officials grew hopeful when the Supreme Court invited the federal government to comment on a petition from Ohio seeking the authority to regulate how long a train can block a crossing. The high court will likely hear the case if the solicitor general recommends it, said Tom Goldstein, publisher of SCOTUSblog, which is widely seen as an authority on the court," ProPublica and Gray report. "Nineteen other states have signaled their support for a Supreme Court case. Goldstein expects the solicitor general to respond in November or early December. A favorable court opinion could allow other states to finally enforce their laws on blocked crossings. . . .[In the meantime] the problem has become so endemic in Hammond that getting 'trained,' or stalled at crossings, has become a verb."