We Can’t Do a Damn Thing About Trains Blocking Traffic
Michigan has tried to prevent backed-up railroad crossings, but the federal government has full control
Ferndale — There’s nothing more frustrating than getting stuck behind a slow-moving train, and in Michigan, the problem is only getting worse. The freight trains are getting longer and longer, as the railway companies look to carry even more goods with each trip.
Because the trains are so much longer now, they have to frequently stop for maintenance or to unload some of the cars, and in some cases, they’ll come to a stop at a crossing for 30 minutes, an hour or more.
Complaints from Michigan drivers to the Federal Railroad Administration have skyrocketed in recent years, ever since the FRA established an online complaint form in 2019. Michigan was averaging about 700 complaints a year, but in the last 12 months, there have been nearly 900.
A Michigan Enjoyer analysis of the data shows that two cities in our state have by far the most gripes: Ferndale, with 90 formal complaints, and Howell, with 87. That’s 20% of the total complaints from just two cities.
I live in Howell, and I can attest to this: our railroad crossings suck.
The bad place in Ferndale is the Canadian National Railway track (formerly Grand Trunk Western Railroad) that runs from the southeast to the northwest. It blocks traffic at several spots, including 9 Mile Road, Woodward Heights, and Hilton Road. If a long train stops there —and it happens a lot—there’s no bridge nearby to get you over the tracks.
In Howell, the culprit is the CSX track that runs east and west on the south side of town. It blocks traffic on the main artery into town, Michigan Avenue, and once a long train stops there, you’re screwed. You have to drive about four miles in either direction to get around it. Like most drivers in Howell, this happens to me all the time.
There are other communities with tons of formal complaints: Plymouth, Burton, Woodhaven, Wixom, Taylor, Flat Rock, Westland, Romulus, Brighton, and even Emmett, a small village in St. Clair County. The worst place on the west side of the state is Fennville.
Michigan ranks seventh nationally when it comes to railroad crossing complaints. Texas is far and away in first place. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia also have a lot. And for every person who took the time to file a formal complaint, there are thousands more who are just as pissed off.
The question is, why isn’t the State of Michigan doing anything about it? Why aren’t the State Police writing tickets? Why aren’t the city councils in Ferndale, Howell, and everywhere else passing laws to punish the railroads? Why isn’t anybody doing anything?
Short answer, and you won’t like this: Because they can’t.
Every railway and railroad track in the country is controlled by the federal government, not the state, so there’s not a damn thing that the State of Michigan, the City of Ferndale or anybody else can do about it.
They can pass all the laws they want and write all the tickets they want, and it won’t make one bit of difference. The railroads can do whatever they want, and they know it.
That federal complaint form that people in Ferndale, Howell and everywhere else have been filling out? It’s just a feel-good thing that lets ticked-off drivers blow off a little steam. It does nothing.
It even says so right on the website: “There are no federal laws or regulations pertaining to blocked crossings. Therefore, this information is only being used to track the location and impacts of blocked crossings.”
So you can send in a complaint if you want, but it won’t do jack squat.
The Michigan Legislature has tried to take action on it. Back in 1993, they passed a law called the “Railroad Code of 1993” that said a train could only block an intersection for five minutes. If it went any longer than that, the railroad would have to pay a fine of $500 or more.
Every time that law has gone to court, though, the courts have basically said, “Bless your heart, Michigan, but your silly little law means nothing. You don’t control the railroads.”
The issue was decided once and for all in 2002 when the City of Plymouth took one for the team and fought the CSX railroad in federal court, attempting to enforce the five-minute rule. The State of Michigan joined Plymouth in the lawsuit.
The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Michigan and Plymouth had no jurisdiction to enforce the law. And that was that.
For their part, the Association of American Railroads (the group that represents all the railroads) says that it’s a YP (Your Problem), not an MP (My Problem). They say that cities like Ferndale and Howell just need to make infrastructure improvements and build bridges over the railways.
“Grade separation projects (that’s what they call them) are an effective solution to reducing crossings,” the AAR says.
In the meantime, they’ll do whatever the hell they want and block the tracks for as long as they want.
There’s nothing we can do, so just pull up Netflix on your phone and wait for the train to pass.
