One Long Train

Once again, CSX is on the agenda of the monthly neighborhood association meeting.  The focus: what to do with the one long train that circles through Locust Point once a week, usually on Sundays? Resident are still complaining about the incident a couple months back where rail cars blocked both of the crossings that people use to enter and leave the Locust Point.  This is particularly concerning since the Fort Avenue Bridge, the third and final way of the neighborhood, will be closed to cars for a full year starting this July.  Imagine if your or a loved one were having a heart attack and could not get medical help because freight trains were blocking access to assistance. 

CSX "Resident VP" Sharon Daboin told people at the April LPCA meeting that the freight operator is working on a solution.  It involves separating the rail cars so that the train will not block Andre Street and Hull Street crossings at the same time.  The challenge is getting the workers in the rail yard to unhitch the trains before there's a real problem.  "A working yard is not under the control of the CSX dispatch system," Daboin said.

I was curious why there was such a long train in the first place.  Daboin says its a reflection of the recovering economy. "There is a bright side to all this," Daboin said. "It means that people are buying again." The train that makes its weekly sojourn through Locust Point originates outside of Buffalo, snaking through cities and towns in New York, Pennsylvania, Baltimore and beyond.  What other communities are experiencing what we have?   Is this a temporary problem, or will there be more longer trains?

CSX has big freight plans for south Baltimore.  With the state's help, it plans to build a cargo transfer station where containers can be double-stacked on railcars headed south and west.  With the price of gas, rail is becoming a more attractive alternative to trucks as a way to move freight long distances.   Don't worry, the transfer station will be built in either Anne Arundel or Prince George's County, not here. That's because it would cost too much to rebuild the old Howard Street tunnel to accomodate double-decker freight trains.  As an aside, the location battle south of us is a big one, according to the Baltimore Sun.  But so is the dispute over CSX's one long train snaking through Locust Point.