MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Union County homeowners west of Marysville say they’re tired of seeing trains sit idle at intersections, sometimes for longer than an hour, preventing them from getting to where they need to be.
“It's a big inconvenience when you live 10 minutes from town and it takes you a half-hour to get there or longer," said one homeowner, who did not want to share his name.
But it’s more than time wasted in the car that has people like him frustrated.
His real concern, he says, came when he called 911 for his wife around 6:40 p.m.
“It was five minutes after 8 when the squad took my wife out of the driveway,” the homeowner said.
He blames CSX Transportation, which he says has blocked the intersection to get to his house.
“Yeah it's pretty frustrating and have said it time and time again; somebody is going to get killed because of the train out there. Somebody [could] die of a heart attack nobody can get to them, that about sums it up,” he said.
According to CSX, the state of Ohio doesn’t have jurisdiction that the “overwhelming precedent” in state and federal courts is that state and local railroad crossing anti-blocking laws are impermissible and preempted by federal law.
The ICCTA, enacted in 1995, removed the authority of states to regulate core railroad operations. The law established a Surface Transportation Board with exclusive jurisdiction over “transportation of rail carriers.”
The company indicates the law includes an express preemption clause that grants the board exclusive regulatory authority over railroad operations and prohibits state laws that impact the “managing” or “governing” of rail transportation.
While the federal government hasn’t explicitly issued a regulation regarding railroad crossing blockage, anti-blocking laws have been found to affect the managing and governing of rail transportation, according to CSX.
Because the board has exclusive jurisdiction over those matters, state and local laws have been found to be impermissible, the company added.
The Union County prosecutor noted that “no federal law, nor any rule issued by federal regulatory agencies, expressly addresses the blocking of railroad crossings.”
Because trains stopped on crossings cut off vital safety service providers from the communities they serve, the prosecutor says the state is authorized under their traditional police powers to enact anti-blocking laws.
When state lawmakers enacted R.C. 5589.21 in 1999, the legislation included the statement that improper obstruction of crossings by trains “is a direct threat to the health, safety, and welfare” of citizens because it prevents the timely movement of ambulances, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and healthcare professionals.”
Between May and November 2018, the Union County Sheriff’s Office issued five citations against CSX Transportation, charging it with violating R.C. 5589.21(A).
The state law prohibits a railroad company from obstructing a public road for longer than five minutes, except when a train is continuously moving or by circumstances wholly beyond the control of the train operator. The citations charge that CSX had stopped trains, blocking public railroad crossings for more than an hour with no mechanical issues causing the stoppage.
CSX pled not guilty to the charge in Marysville Municipal Court. A company representative told the court that on three of the occasions in which the company was cited, their trains were loading and unloading goods and supplies to the Honda of America Manufacturing plant west of Marysville.
In two other instances, a CSX train was stuck on the crossing while making way for a passing train coming in the other direction, and a CSX train halted because a train traveling ahead of it stopped due to a mechanical failure.
CSX asked the trial court to dismiss the case, arguing R.C. 5589.21 is preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) and the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA). The trial court agreed and dismissed the case.
The Union County Prosecutors’ Office appealed the decision to the Third District Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings.
CSX appealed the Third District’s decision to the Ohio Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case.
Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton says he’s filed 198 complaints against CSX for blocking intersections since 2019 and has yet to get a response from the Federal Railroad Administration.
Here is a list of all the intersections where the trains are blocked:
- Bear Swamp Road
- Johnson Road
- Paver Barnes Road
- Shirk Road
- Liberty West Road
- Dog Leg Road
- State Route 739
- State Route 347