Apparently, Congress passed legislation that says that states cannot regulate the railroads in any way, shape or form. Only Congress can regulate the railroads. The net effect of this is that a railroad can block a road as long as they want, and there is nothing that a city, county, or state can do about it. Can't get the police, ambulance, or fire department through? That's your problem. Can't get to work? Your problem. Can't get the pregnant wife to the hospital? Your problem. And you have no recourse for a lawsuit, no matter how serious the consequences. Some trains will block a road for hours or even days. (Actually, it is probably not Round 1--I'm sure this battle has been going on for a while. But this legislation certainly seems to have decided the Final Solution for modern times.) When trains block roads, states can’t do anything. Supreme Court could change that There is no question that the (freight) railroads are extremely important to our economy. However, there are legitimate reasons they should not be allowed to block roads indefinitely.
We sometimes have to deal with railroads to permit utility crossings. They rival the school boards with respect to how difficult they are to deal with as they have their monopoly and they need nothing from you
Sounds like a preemption issue. If Congress has preempted the states, that's simply how it goes. The answer is for Congress to act and fix the problem.
Yes, I remember having to "negotiate" rail rates earlier in my career. They literally laughed at me for requesting even small concessions.
My best friend is an electrical engineer that does designs for railway crossings. We're supposed to be doing a zoom call tonight over beers. I'll ask him about this
Next time this inconveniences you think about how this is basically only the case because the state wants to have the leverage to quash and intervene in railroad strikes
Absolutely and let's not forget the Commerce clause. This is the exact text of the Commerce clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3) of the Constitution. The plain meaning is so obvious that one doesn't have to an expert in Constitutional law to understand that it provides Congress with the authority to regulate railroads.
There was an abandoned rail road line by my house. I thought it would be a good place to build some townhomes. I looked into it and asked if they would be interested in selling or leasing me the property. They promptly had a locomotive go down the line just to say it wasn’t abandoned.
