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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor WEST SPRINGFIELD The scream of an air horn cuts through the humid air of a July afternoon and a freight train rumbles past the two rail road crossings on Front Street. It's an event that can take place up to 30 times a day and local officials teamed up with safety officers from CSX Transportation last week to make sure motorists understand the safety concerns the trains represent. Members of the West Springfield Police Department, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) and CSX employees were stopping motorists on July19 to hand out safety brochures and to warn them of the dangers the trains can present. Tim Doherty of the PVPC said that 9,000 drivers use Front Street as a shortcut between West Springfield and Agawam and that up to 30 trains, both freight trains and Amtrak, can use the lines each day. Doherty said that although there have been no accidents at the site, there have been several "near-misses," when drivers decided to maneuver around the crossing gates and attempt to beat the on-coming train. Doherty said the PVPC supports an up-grade of the gates and warning lights and alarms at the two Front Street crossings. He called the two crossings as among "the most critical ones in the region." When motorist attempt to drive around the gates they may not see trains coming from the other direction, he explained. Funding to improve the crossings would come from the federal government and administered by the state, he added. Lou Frangella, the supervisor of public affairs and safety for CSX, said the freight trains are going between 35 and 40 miles per hour as they pass through the crossing. At 35 miles per hour a train would take a half-mile to come to a complete stop in an emergency. The distribution of safety brochures is a part of the company's on-going public awareness program, Frangella said. The brochures address a number of mis-conceptions concerning train safety. Among them are: Walking on train tracks is not only unsafe it's illegal. Modern trains are not noisy and can be close to a crossing before someone might here them. It's not safe to cross a track as soon as the last car of a train passes as there may be an another train coming. Pedestrians, as well as motorists, must obey flashing red signal lights. Frangella said that CSX employs a police force with the arrest powers of State Police to help enforce the law around the company's tracks. |