Metro Detroit’s most-blocked railroad crossings frustrate commuters, officials

By Apurva Mahajan, The Detroit Information

It’s a well-recognized frustration for Metro Detroit drivers: the flashing crimson lights and clanging bell of a railroad crossing about to shut.

However in communities the place complaints about blocked crossings are on the rise, the wait is greater than an inconvenience. It’s a possible security hazard and a sign that legal guidelines are wanted to control how lengthy freight trains can block crossings, some native officers mentioned.

The reviews are most acute in Ferndale, Howell and Woodhaven this 12 months, in response to a Detroit Information evaluation of information from the Federal Railroad Administration, with crossings in Wixom notching probably the most reviews for the reason that knowledge grew to become accessible in 2019.

“It’s not simply an annoyance. It is a life, well being and security concern,” mentioned state Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, who launched laws handed in 2023 that goals to lower blockages by making a fund for underpass and overpass initiatives at crossings.

Greater than 4,300 reviews of trains blocking railroad crossings in Michigan have been submitted to the railroad administration since a reporting type was created in late 2019. Essentially the most blocked crossings within the state reported this 12 months are in southeast Michigan, with probably the most reviews — 44 — from Ferndale out of greater than 400 whole reviews as of Aug. 7. Howell and Woodhaven comply with, with 30 and 29 reviews, respectively.

Wixom has the best whole blocked crossing reviews in Michigan since late 2019 — the earliest knowledge accessible — with over 340 as of Aug. 7. Wayne County has probably the most reviews in that very same interval with over 1,300, or nearly a 3rd of Michigan’s whole, knowledge exhibits.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s knowledge consists of complaints about blocked crossings filed to the group via its Blocked Crossing Incident Reporter, accessible on the company’s web site. Information might embody a number of reviews for a similar incident.

The reporting instrument was created in 2019 to provide the general public a technique to talk immediately with the railroad company, mentioned James Payne, the FRA’s employees director for the highway-rail grade crossing and trespasser applications division. The FRA makes use of the info to later meet with railroads to know why crossings are being blocked.

Freight railroads account for a lot of the blocked crossing reviews and comprise the vast majority of the state’s rail system. Amtrak, the biggest passenger railroad within the state, accounts for simply 1% of Michigan’s reviews since 2019.

Trade representatives mentioned they’re additionally pissed off by delays which might be typically out of their management.

Railroads have little interest in blocking crossings and keep away from obstructing them when attainable, mentioned Jon Cool, president of the Michigan Railroad Affiliation, a company that represents the state’s freight railroad firms.

“Railroads will not be seeking to occupy a crossing. They’re not earning money when they’re standing nonetheless at a crossing,” Cool mentioned. “They need to decide up items and transfer items safely and effectively throughout their community to their prospects. Prospects anticipate that as properly.”

Trade officers, a union official and state lawmakers attribute the rise in blocked crossings to a wide range of elements. They embody elevated growth round rail traces which have attracted extra individuals, the development of longer freight trains and the proximity of sure crossings to rail yards.

How Michigan compares

The statewide totals of blocked crossing reviews have fluctuated over the previous 5 years, however most of the cities with the best totals have skilled general will increase for the reason that knowledge was made accessible.

Ferndale has skilled year-after-year will increase in blocked crossing reviews from 2021 to 2024. In 2024, town skilled 96 reviews, a greater than 115% enhance from its 44 reviews in 2023.

Michigan has the seventh-highest variety of whole reviews since 2019. Throughout the US, practically 15,000 reviews have been submitted this 12 months, with greater than 124,000 for the reason that database was created.

In Michigan, about 86% of all reviews have concerned a stationary practice blocking a crossing. Lower than 10% mentioned a shifting practice was blocking the crossing, and about 4% of reviews mentioned the lights or gates of a crossing have been activated with no practice current.

There is no such thing as a federal rule about how lengthy a rail firm can block crossings. Many states — together with Michigan — have imposed legal guidelines controlling the length of obstructed crossings, however these have typically been challenged in court docket by railroads and overturned, typically citing that solely the federal authorities can regulate railroads.

In 2000, U.S. District Choose Nancy Edmunds struck down Michigan’s 1994 legislation that restricted railroads to blocking a crossing for not more than 5 minutes, with sure exceptions. The Detroit decide dominated in favor of CSX Transportation and held that the statute burdened the circulate of interstate commerce. The district decide’s opinion concluded that any limitation on the period of time a practice can block a crossing should come from the federal authorities.

Previous to this, CSX filed an identical case in opposition to town of Plymouth’s ordinance that additionally imposed a five-minute time restrict for blocked railroad crossings.

About 68% of the incident reviews in 2025 indicated the crossings have been blocked for between 16 minutes to an hour. The streets mostly cited as blocked have been Wixom and Beck roads, which every have over 150 reviews this 12 months.

Questions of safety raised

Blocked railroad crossings can pose security issues for motorists and pedestrians, who might attempt to velocity previous an incoming practice or crawl via or over the practice automobiles.

About 13% of Michigan’s greater than 420 blocked crossing reviews this 12 months concerned an individual witnessing pedestrians making an attempt to cross via the practice automobiles, in response to a Detroit Information evaluation. Practically 7% mentioned they noticed first responders caught on the opposite facet of the tracks. Virtually 8% of reviews mentioned they witnessed each.

The Wixom Hearth Division usually offers with blocked crossings from shifting trains slightly than stopped trains, mentioned hearth Chief Brad Geistler. The police division notifies the hearth division about blocked crossings so first responders can take a distinct path, Geistler mentioned.

The fireplace division has not run right into a state of affairs the place there was no different technique to attain an emergency besides passing the practice, he added. The division additionally has a mutual support settlement with different jurisdictions’ departments, which may help if the Wixom Hearth Division weren’t capable of attain an emergency.

Ferndale, which has probably the most reviews submitted this 12 months, has two hearth stations — one on either side of the railroad tracks that move via town, hearth Chief Teresa Robinson mentioned. Town, like many cities close to rail yards, encounters cases of trains blocking crossings, however the hearth stations usually have good visibility of the crossings and attempt to notify one another when a crossing is blocked, she added.

Early notifications about blocked crossings make it simpler to divert to alternate routes, Robinson mentioned.

Ferndale resident Paul Stuart, 80, mentioned the local people has a “very disagreeable relationship with these big trains.”

Group members by no means understand how lengthy a practice will likely be stopped, mentioned Stuart, the proprietor of Luxurious Lanes & Lounge, a bowling alley by a railroad crossing on East 9 Mile in Ferndale. He mentioned he has witnessed blocked crossings lasting so long as an hour and a half or two hours.

Stuart mentioned he takes facet streets to keep away from coping with blocked crossings, however a number of the different routes can be blocked at occasions.

“I actually fear, as an 80-year-old, what would occur to a person who’s having a coronary heart assault, and he’s caught there for an hour and a half, in an enormous city with lots of people, a number of automobiles backed up, going nowhere,” Stuart mentioned. “Dangerous issues are going to occur up there with this mess.”

Wixom Assistant Metropolis Supervisor and Director of Financial Growth Drew Benson mentioned he wasn’t shocked that town skilled probably the most blocked crossing reviews since 2019. Town has two main north-south roads that run via the group, and rail traces intersect with each of them, in addition to one of many two main east-west roads, Metropolis Supervisor Steven Brown mentioned.

Residents typically name town to ask what it’s going to do, and Brown mentioned he can solely inform them that every one he can do is ask the operator to deal with the problem.

“It’s sort of irritating,” Brown mentioned. “The results are native, however the management just isn’t.”

Steve McCoy, 65, proprietor of Spartan Tire & Auto Heart in Howell, mentioned blocked crossings have been worse just a few months in the past, with trains often stopping for as much as 45 minutes, usually through the afternoon. Prior to now few months, McCoy mentioned, he’s observed trains cease much less often and for shorter occasions.

His enterprise has redesigned its test-drive routes to keep away from the north facet of the tracks and the visitors backups that block sure facet streets.

Railroad firm responds

Grand Trunk Western Railroad — a subsidiary of Canadian Nationwide — and CSX Transportation have been cited for probably the most reported blocked crossings in Michigan, with over 1,700 and 1,180 reviews since 2019, respectively. The 2 railroads are a number of the largest freight railroad firms within the nation.

“CSX strives to be neighbor in communities the place we function, and we work exhausting to attenuate the impression of railroad operations,” CSX Transportation wrote in a press release. “Our objective is to, safely and effectively, transport America’s freight, and we respect the persistence of motorists and pedestrians ready for our trains to move safely via the world as we serve native companies and households all through Michigan.”

CSX “maintains an open line of communication” with officers on the native, state and federal ranges, the assertion mentioned.

“We’re in fixed communication with the communities the place we function and their elected representatives on all sorts of points, together with crossings,” Canadian Nationwide spokesperson Michelle Hannan mentioned in a press release. “You will need to understand that the schedule of trains in a single space match into a much wider community that requires ’round the clock synchronized operations which might be very important to the nation’s financial system.”

Plymouth Metropolis Supervisor Paul Sincock mentioned he understands that the businesses have many railroads and crossings to trace, however the railroad is “distant at finest” with town. Town is residence to a swap yard for CSX, and residents often name the railroad’s quantity on the signage by the crossings.

The rise in blocked crossing reviews for some southeast Michigan cities comes as main freight railroad Union Pacific confirmed final week it might purchase its smaller railroad competitor Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal to create a coast-to-coast freight railroad service. Norfolk Southern operates in Michigan and has the third-highest whole blocked crossing reviews within the state after CSX and Grand Trunk Western.

What causes crossing congestion?

A number of elements may cause blocked railroad crossings, in response to business specialists.

As communities throughout the nation have began to develop over the previous few centuries, extra individuals are coming to areas which might be closely rail-served, equivalent to southeast Michigan, the Michigan Railroad Affiliation’s Cool mentioned. As areas get denser, extra car visitors means extra individuals affected by blocked crossings, he mentioned.

Blocked crossings are frequent close to railroad yards, significantly within the Downriver space, mentioned Eric Stanger, the Michigan legislative director for the Worldwide Affiliation of Sheet Metallic, Air, Rail and Transportation Employees labor union.

Stanger, who has labored as a freight practice conductor for Canadian Nationwide for 25 years, mentioned trains make quite a few stops as they depart the principle line and journey via the yard. Trains need to be able to cease for a damaged rail, one other practice of their manner or a swap line in opposition to them.

Trains might also cease due to mechanical and operational points, obligatory security inspections, crew adjustments or ready for one more practice to move, CSX Transportation mentioned. The corporate runs trains 24/7 and tries to stop them from blocking highway crossings when attainable, the railroad agency mentioned.

Prepare size impacts

Stanger mentioned longer practice lengths are a significant contributor to blocked railroad crossings. Since he was employed over twenty years in the past, trains have gotten longer as know-how has superior, he mentioned. Trains can attain practically 2 miles now, which makes them “gradual and cumbersome” and will increase the danger of derailments, Stanger mentioned.

The median practice size elevated 19% from 2010 to 2023, when the median size was 5,300 ft, in response to the Affiliation of American Railroads. The longest freight trains can attain practically 14,000 ft, although fewer than 1% of trains are this lengthy, the AAR mentioned.

“Issues have been getting worse due to practice lengths,” Stanger mentioned. “The general public and public transportation will be an afterthought, as a result of in the event you enhance the scale of a practice, you maximize revenue. Each automotive you add to that practice is extra revenue for the service.”

However freight rail business leaders have mentioned that longer trains use much less gasoline and create fewer emissions. The American Affiliation of Railroads’ web site mentioned lengthy trains have operated safely for many years and that the business’s security report has improved throughout that point.

Cool mentioned trains are being constructed longer for efficiencies inside their rail networks. Shorter trains would require extra trains to hold the identical quantity of freight, which might result in extra blocked crossings, he mentioned.

Crossings that have been by no means blocked previously can get blocked when a practice will get just a little longer, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Payne mentioned. Longer trains can block crossings which might be a mile or two away.

Kerry Chowaniec, the proprietor of Kerry’s Shear Magic in Howell, mentioned blocked crossings within the metropolis differ in time, starting from lower than half-hour to an hour. Chowaniec, 55, mentioned typically her prospects haven’t been capable of depart or come into her hair salon as a result of a practice blocked their manner.

Rerouting round a blocked crossing just isn’t attainable if a practice is lengthy sufficient to dam a number of intersections, Chowaniec mentioned.

The general public can typically take their frustration out on freight practice staff, Stanger mentioned. Individuals have thrown rocks or bottles at him and his co-workers when a practice has blocked a crossing, he mentioned.

“We’re making each effort to clear the crossings,” Stanger mentioned. “That both means full the work that must be completed in an expedited method, or restore the practice so we will get issues shifting.”

Lawmakers search motion

Michigan state Sen. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, who chairs the state Senate’s transportation and infrastructure committee, mentioned railroad firms haven’t acted as “good stewards of the group” by way of communication about blocked crossings and lengthy trains.

“The railroad firms imagine that as a result of they existed earlier than some cities have been in existence that they subsequently have the proper to only do no matter they need,” Geiss mentioned.

The Federal Railroad Administration doesn’t have the authority to create a rule on blocked crossings, Payne mentioned. Congress must move laws to provide the FRA the flexibility to create a blocked crossing regulation, he mentioned.

Payments calling for federal regulation of blocked railroad crossings have been launched in Congress a number of occasions, however usually by no means advance previous committee.

In January, U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican who represents Ohio’s eighth District, reintroduced his Railroad Duty Act of 2025, which goals to provide states the ability to restrict how lengthy trains can block highway-rail crossings. Davidson launched an identical invoice in 2024, nevertheless it didn’t make it out of a Home subcommittee.

An imperfect answer

Railroad business specialists have mentioned grade separation initiatives are probably the greatest methods to assist navigate railroad, pedestrian and auto visitors at railroad crossings. This technique entails creating separate ranges for several types of visitors at intersections utilizing underpasses and overpasses, Payne mentioned.

Grade separations are the “gold commonplace for security and effectivity,” an AAR spokesperson wrote in a press release. The group supported the creation of the Grade Crossing Elimination Program, which gives federal funding for railroad crossing enchancment initiatives, together with grade separations.

Camilleri, the state senator, launched a invoice handed in 2023 to create a state fund for grade crossing initiatives. Native jurisdictions can apply to the fund, displaying they’ll match a part of the undertaking’s price. The same grade separation grant program exists on the federal degree and likewise requires a neighborhood funding match.

Development started this April on a grade separation undertaking on the railroad crossing on Allen Highway in Woodhaven. Railroad firms have been useful companions in grade separation initiatives, Camilleri mentioned, as a result of the bridges are additionally options for them.

The Michigan Railroad Affiliation’s Cool mentioned a broad group of stakeholders, together with automakers, public security officers, railway firms and the agricultural business have supported grade separation. The MRA hopes extra money will be deposited into the state grade separation fund to assist extra initiatives, he added.

However grade separations aren’t a cure-all as a result of they require tens of tens of millions of {dollars}. A fundamental undertaking can price about $20 million, Payne mentioned, and bigger initiatives price upward of $50 million. The initiatives additionally take years to finish.

Moreover, the initiatives require about 700 ft on either side of the railroad crossing for a single grade separation, which isn’t possible for city or closely developed areas, Payne mentioned.

Robinson, Ferndale’s hearth chief, mentioned the division has begun to analysis know-how choices that may monitor blocked crossings and notify drivers to take an alternate route, seeing if accessible software program can be match for town.

State Sens. Camilleri and Geiss mentioned laws on practice size and blocked crossings can be superb, however since blocked crossing durations and practice size can primarily be managed on the federal degree, grade separations are the one substantial answer for now.

“You both construct an overpass, otherwise you don’t,” Camilleri mentioned. “The one answer that basically exists is to construct a bridge.”

Initially Revealed: August 8, 2025 at 11:19 AM EDT