Railroad Companies Increase Train Lengths

Lots of towns and cities in Oklahoma see a lot of railroad traffic, but if you think trains are longer these days than they used to be, it’s because they are.

The Federal Railroad Administration says railroad companies have been increasing train lengths for some time, but especially in the last few years as they try to be even more efficient.

We checked a couple of trains heading through Oologah last week. We saw one that had 214 cars and another that had 296 (not including locomotives), making that one about three miles long.

The Federal Railroad Administration says there’s no law that restricts how long trains can be, even though it says they can cause traffic problems can even be dangerous.

The F.R.A. says it’s because blocked train crossings may cause drivers to go around barricades and pedestrians may be tempted to crawl between stopped rail cars. Stopped trains can also delay emergency vehicles.

The F.R.A. wants to hear from anyone who has to wait on a train, including first responders. It’s set up a website called the Public Blocked Crossing Incident Reporter

You can use that site to quickly report when you had to wait on a train.

Be sure to include date, time, location and how long the train blocked the crossing.