By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — Trains blocking intersections delaying your commute? In Anderson, that seems to be the crossing we all have to bear.
It appears that way to Bob Brown, who works in Noblesville and drives home to Anderson around 4 p.m. every day. When he arrives, usually around 4:30, “it seems more times than not there’s a train stopped on those tracks” on 38th Street west of Dr. Martin Luther Boulevard.
It means backtracking and driving to where the train ends, then crossing the tracks, or just sitting and waiting for the train to roll on.
“Sometimes they’re only stopped 10 or 15 minutes,” he said. “I know for a fact I sat there one day for 35 minutes.”
City and railroad officials acknowledge the situation can be a pain in the caboose for motorists. But they say it’s also a driver of the economy and a reality of the industrial heartland. Nestlé, Precision Strip and Tru-Cut Inc. are among many industries in Anderson that rely on rail service to ship and receive products.
The trains stop at times to pick up or drop off cars at the Anderson rail yard near Meadowbrook and at industries, said Bob Sullivan, spokesman for CSX Railroad.
“Our intent is obviously not trying to block anything, but at the same time we’re trying to serve the industry in the area and to do everything safely,” Sullivan said.
“It can be a process that takes a little bit of time. It’s a function of how many cars are being moved and what specifically needs to be done on a given day.”
Indiana law says trains may block an intersection for 10 minutes, but it’s a regulation that often isn’t enforced because of safety considerations and other factors.
City Engineer Mike Spyers said his office had received a few complaints about stopped trains, but “mostly from people from out of town who don’t have any idea how to get around them.”
Of course, locals know the surefire way is to head to Main Street. The viaduct beneath the tracks there is the only place in Anderson where traffic flows when there’s a passing train.
Spyers said a federally funded study two years ago looked into the possibility of adding some new overpasses or underpasses. That study looked at the railroad crossings on 38th Street, Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Columbus Avenue and Scatterfield Road.
But at an average cost in the neighborhood of $25 million per overpass, those projects likely won’t be coming down the line anytime soon.
Spyers said the study also explored the possibility of rerouting rail lines to get trains away from the downtown area, but no such plans are being pursued.
“With the rise in fuel costs, you’re seeing more and more companies that want rail service,” he said.
Brown said he understands the trains have to stop, but he wonders if they could do so at a time when fewer people were on the road.
“It just seems like a really bad time,” he said. “Seems like 1 or 2 would be a better time than rush hour.”
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com.
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Trains in Anderson
About 45 to 50 trains a day run through Anderson on the CSX line. The line is among the railroad’s busiest, a company spokesman said. The section through Anderson runs from Cleveland to Indianapolis and is part of a larger line from the Northeast to St. Louis.
