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HomeMy WebLinkAboutUnion Pacific - Speed Union Patificpicking up pace '.'J "'" ~ " "," ~_~~4 -~- , ,.~:.~ " ' ,"; '4, \ Eagle photo/Butch Ireland ,Unlon"p~Ifl~;;tr~.t"" ~fnan Steve Martin cuts through tlJe rail railroad Is adding ballast u~~r th~ Intersections In Bryan to meet Tuesday';aftemoo ,', t Street and Tabor Road In Bryan. The " regulations when the speed.llmlt is ralsedrfrom,10 mph to 25 mph. !B~':~~iS :~t)~~r questions safety of increa~jfig:'tra~s) speed By"APmL"AVIs6'N Feb. 1 on about 21 miles of ture. The tracks in Btyan are Eagle Staff Writer track stretching from South being upgraded to Class ,2, Main Street in downtown which allows freight train Bryan to Hearne. speeds of up to 25 mph. "It allows us to clear cross- Abou.t 160 Union Pacific ings faster'a,nd, rw!}.ce incon-)Vorkers have been involved ve~lence ,,: ,6~ ':',m()~~!i~t~l',';"" .)l)c(,tiW lO?li capi~ ~prove- Umon Pacillo st>f>l\esmarf J-OO:;' plent 'proJe.ct, WhICh mcludes Arbona said. "We're'takihg installing 19,000' new into consideration safety crossties, placing gravel first." underneath the tracK~ and Speed-related classifica- )res~acing iabo,ut 1,000 feet tions are set by the Federal'- ',fef railroad, 'Arbona said.' Railroad Administration, Th"ere are no plans to based on the. stre.~$tl1 of,: ~p~~e:~ain speed limits tracks and their curvatuI:~;1 ,,~l&ew.b~r:~- ill the Brazos Val- according to agency, litera-'ley, 1\roona said. , Union Pacific trains will pass faster through Bryan starting nextmonth, prompt- ing the mayor to question whether the new speed limit will endanger motorists crossing the tracks. But Union Pacific offiCials say that safety actually will increase when the, speed limit goes from 10 mph to 25 mph, the result of a $3,3 mil- lion upgrade. , The change will take effect Union Pacific; trains go ,through Con~ge Station at 40 :n1Ph. Some Union Pacific :freight trains reach speeds, up to 80 mph ~pther Parts of Texas, Arbona Said. Bryan Mayor Ernie Wen- "trcek said Tuesday he wants to raise awareness of the "speed limit change. . "I'm concerned that citi- ,zens have grown accustomed ~to the train coming through at 10 mph, and occasionally they go around the gates r "It's important for people to be aware of [the speed limit change], and it's always good for people to be extra cautious?' I 1 'I Speed when the train is coming," Wentrcek said. "It could catch some of those people by sur- prise, 'and we could end up hav- ! ing an accident. I would have been happier if they had done this in increments over a peri- od of time." No plans are in place for it's always good for people to be additional signage to be posted extra cautious at 'railroadl at the crossings to alert crossings," he said. ' motorists of the speed limit Officer Jillian Garza, a change, Arbona said. spokeswoman for the Bryan, Wentrcek said he also is con- Police Department, said it's dif- cerned about a' letter he ficult to gauge whether thel received last week from Dan change will make a difference Shudak, general superintend- in emergency response times ent for Union Pacific, that or accidents near the railroad states "in many instances, the crossings. risk of derailments is greater at "We really don't know what slower speeds." kind of effect it will have," ~'They comment that the Garza said Tuesday. "We've , Jxain~is less likely: to.turn over had 1;he~10 mph limit for so at a higher speed," Wentrcek. long, and we haven't done anyl said. "That would be the oppo- research: as to how raising the site of what I would think." speed limit would affect our Calls placed to Shudak on accident rate." I Tuesday were directed to Arbona." . April Avison's e-mail address is ".If [a train is] traveling at araOri1..avisoo@theeagle.com. , slower speed, you have a ten-J dency of people trying to beat the train. When you have a crossing accident, that increasJ es the potential of derailment,"1 Arbona said. "If you increase the speed, you reduce the num-, her of,incidents." , Arbona said his staff also is! trying to publicize the speed limit change. "Certainly it's important fori people to he aware of this, and , I , I JOE ARBONA: Union Pacific spokesman' ...