Have Massive Freight Trains In Texas Gotten Too Big?

Everything really is bigger in Texas, including our Texas sized freight trains. That's not necessarily a good thing when it comes to time and safety though.

Texas is famous for all kinds of big things ... and small things too ... and they're not all necessarily good. We have big traffic jams and big taxes for example. We also have big, (gigantic actually), freight trains.

Trains are necessary but they have gotten so long that they've become an unsafe, pain in the butt.

They hold you up forever at railroad crossings just passing by. If they break down or have to stop for any reason, that crossing's blocked for hours. Maybe all day, creating an annoyance at best, a danger at the worst.

Why Are Long Trains Dangerous?

In some cases, blocked railroad crossing are not only holding up traffic, they're also holding up emergency response vehicles. This delay not only holds up help when someone needs it, in some cases it doubles the cost of that help.

For example, if a call comes in to an address near a railroad crossing, the Fort Worth Fire Department dispatches from 2 locations so, if the crossing's in use, 1 of the 2 is on the right side of it.

READ MORE: Weird Texas Railroad Laws

Some crossings block the only way in or out of a certain area, leaving people unable to get home or to work. That leads peeps to climb across the train between cars if they're near their destination which, (obviously), creates another danger.

You're not allowed to do that but, apparently, people do it pretty regularly. I did it in Juarez once and the train officials said nothing. They just stood their and watched a hundred or so peeps clamber all over their train.

How Much Bigger Are Trains?

5 years ago, Texas freight trains were about 8,000 feet long. Today, they average from over 9,000 feet to as much as 15K. That sucker's gonna take a minute to pass, especially if it's traveling at the slower speeds mandated in neighborhoods and within city limits.

If it breaks down, or crossing maintenance is being done, forget it - nobody's going anywhere. Last year, the number of blocked railroad crossings set a new record of almost 700 per month.