The damage to three vehicles struck by trains in Greenwood this week shows just how much worse the accidents could have been.
One vehicle rolled over three times. Another was struck by the train once, spun around and then struck again, setting off all the vehicle’s airbags. Miraculously, no one was killed.
“The impact and the power is just devastating,” Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said.
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But local officials are worried that next time, which they know is coming, the news will be much more grim.
And they are calling for action now.
Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett and Myers both want the railroad company to be held responsible for making safety upgrades to railroad crossings across Johnson County.
They have made the request before, but with trains traveling faster and multiple accidents already, they want federal lawmakers to change the law and require the fixes.
On Monday, three vehicles ran into or were struck by trains within the span of about 12 hours in Greenwood, with two of the crashes on County Line Road and the other on Pushville Road. And that’s after at least two other accidents where people were killed in crashes with trains on the Louisville and Indiana Railroad line, which runs the east side of the county. Last year, upgrades were made to the tracks in Johnson County and elsewhere on the line, allowing more trains to travel the line and run at faster speeds.
In at least one of the crashes Monday, which happened at 7:35 p.m. on County Line Road, the driver told police she did not see the train approaching and crossed the tracks in front of it, according to the police report.
While drivers should always be paying attention, that isn’t an excuse for the railroad company not to make safety improvements, Myers said. He compared it to work the city has done on its roads, such as widening Worthsville Road. The city updated the railroad crossing, stoplights and speed limits after doing that work, he said.
“Because we know people don’t pay attention to their surroundings, and it should be the same for the railroad to make sure it is not going to cost a human life, which it already has done,” Myers said.
“Now the railroad has made their choice to upgrade their rails and their speed, and they are not accepting the responsibly to upgrade their safety.”
Barnett doesn’t fault drivers; he faults the railroad companies for not making improvements, he said.
“In the ideal world, everyone is going to pay attention and everything is going to be perfect. But people lose attention for a few seconds, so they need to figure out how to help people pay attention, and putting cross arms up would help,” Barnett said.
Edinburgh and Greenwood have both had accidents, and Franklin will have one at some point and he worries about how serious it will be, Barnett said.
“Franklin has been lucky that we have not had anything, but my biggest fear is we are next,” Barnett said.
The county, Franklin, Greenwood and Whiteland were awarded a $4.3 million federal grant that will pay for 90 percent of the cost to add cross arms and flashing lights to 17 railroad crossings. But that money isn’t available until 2020, and those fixes are needed now.
Barnett would like the railroad crossing to pay now for those upgrades, including cross arms at each crossing that would block traffic from crossing when a train is passing, and then be reimbursed with the grant money, he said.
So far, the railroad company has put up new signs and worked on a public education campaign, but that doesn’t reach everyone like cross arms at each crossing would, he said.
But the city’s efforts, which included asking a federal board to require safety upgrades when the railroad requested permission to upgrade the tracks, haven’t worked, he said. And local officials want help.
He wants state and federal lawmakers to take on the issue to create change in the laws, requiring railroads to pay for upgrades. Laws haven’t kept up with the industry, and the railroad company makes money off of its improvements. Some of that money should go into making the crossings safer for traffic, he said.
“How many people have to die because they don’t care? All we can do is keep reaching out to senators, legislators, let them know how unhappy we are,” Barnett said.
That is Myers’ focus as well, and he is trying to get the support of other cities from across the country. He is approaching three groups he is a part of — the National League of Cities, U.S Conference of Mayors and Community Leaders of America — and asking them to take on railroad safety as a national issue, with mayors across the nation pushing for changes in legislation that would require upgrades to crossings, he said.
“I believe this is an important issue,” Myers said.
Until then, they are hoping residents will stay safe.
Barnett’s message to drivers: “Be careful and pay attention to our railroad crossings until we can get the railroad to finally see the light and do something.”
