CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Police in Chambersburg have cited CSX Transportation 49 times this year for violation of a state blocked-crossing law, the local newspaper reports. The railroad is seeking to invalidate those citations on the grounds the law is not enforceable.
The Chambersburg Public Opinion reports Chambersburg police began tracking issues at Orchard Drive in the borough, about an hour southwest of Harrisburg, after moving into a temporary station near the grade crossing while the regular police station is being renovated. Since January, CSX has pleaded not guilty to 29 citations; eight have been dismissed, and please have yet to be filed in 12 citations issued since April 12.
Pennsylvania law prohibits grade crossings from being blocked for more than 5 minutes. The case by the law firm representing CSX that the law is unenforceable centers on the position that the federal government, not the states, regulate matters of interstate commerce. That has led to similar laws being struck down in a number of states, most recently in Ohio [see “Ohio Supreme Court strikes down blocked-crossing law,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 18, 2022].
The Ohio case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorneys general from 20 states have filed an amicus brief in that case questioning such decisions [see “Kansas attorney general joins group …,” News Wire, Dec. 23, 2022], and the Supreme Court has asked the federal government for its view on the case [see “Supreme Court asks federal government for opinion …,” News Wire, March 21, 2023]
Meanwhile, in the Chambersburg case, CSX’s law firm also argued that police failed to investigate to see if any of the exceptions to the state law applied. Those include when a train is moving, when switching is underway, or when no vehicles are waiting to cross. The crossing is less than a mile from the CSX intermodal facility in Chambersburg.
CSX said in a statement to the newspaper that it could not discuss the citations but “maintains an open line of communication with local officials and has a long history of working with our communities to mitigate operational impacts, including identifying crossings that are ideal candidates for safety improvements, grade separation, consolidation or closure.”
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