OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma state legislator has announced plans for a bill to limit train lengths within the state.
State Rep. Ty Burns (R-Pawnee) says the legislation, to be introduced at the start of the upcoming legislative session in February, will seek to cap train length at 8,500 feet, KOKI-TV reports.
“The infrastructure that the railroad companies have for this isn’t sustainable for the length of trains that they are running,” Burns told the station. “… Some of these trains are 15,000 feet long and their yards are not able to withstand that length … so they’re backed up all the way on the tracks, which are pushing trains to hold off in the middle of nowhere.” He said people in rural communities are “trapped for hours” because of trains that are “clogged up at the end of the yard.”
Burns has previously introduced legislation that would require two-person crews within the state. That bill, HB1075, was introduced in 2023 and died in committee.
