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Date: 2025-07-02 Page is: DBtxt001.php txt00024583
US FREIGHT RAIL
BLOCKED RAILROAD CROSSINGS
Do Blocked Railroad Crossings Endanger Your Community? Tell Us More. ... We want to understand what stationary and long trains mean for EMS, firefighters, police and families across the country.

Jamie Kelter Davis for ProPublica
Original article: https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/do-blocked-railroad-crossings-endanger-your-community-tell-us-more
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess
Do Blocked Railroad Crossings Endanger Your Community? Tell Us More.

We want to understand what stationary and long trains mean for EMS, firefighters, police and families across the country.

by Ruth Baron, Topher Sanders and Dan Schwartz

Dec. 7, 2022, 10 a.m. EST

In communities across America, trains come to a stop at railroad crossings, sometimes blocking traffic for hours. The federal government has amassed tens of thousands of reports of such incidents in the past year alone from nearly every state.

This is more than an inconvenience: Our reporters have heard from emergency medical workers and patients about trains blocking crossings in ways that have kept ambulances and those in need of assistance from hospitals, and members of fire and police departments have told us about delayed responses to calls. We have witnessed people climbing through or over the cars of stationary trains, including students trying to get to school.

We’d like to understand how these safety issues are experienced by as many communities as possible. Insights from EMS, firefighters, police, parents, educators and others will help us tell the most impactful stories possible.

We appreciate you sharing your story and we take your privacy seriously. We are gathering these stories for the purposes of our reporting and will contact you if we wish to publish any part of your story.

Name * Email * Phone (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Tell us about yourself: Tell us about yourself: *
  • I am a first responder (i.e., EMS, firefighter, law enforcement).
  • I am a 911 dispatcher.
  • I am a parent or guardian of a child whose commute is affected by blocked crossings.
  • I am an educator or administrator whose students are affected by blocked crossings.
  • I am an elected official or a government employee.
  • I work for a railroad or have been contracted by a railroad.
  • I have knowledge about other safety issues posed by blocked crossings.
  • Other
  • (Select all that apply)
Where do you live or work? Where do you live or work? *
  • City
  • State
  • Is there anything else you think we should know about this issue?
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRIVACY We appreciate you sharing your story and we take your privacy seriously. We are gathering these stories for the purposes of our reporting, and will contact you if we wish to publish any part of your story. We are the only ones reading what you submit. If you would prefer to use an encrypted app, see our advice at propublica.org/tips. Send questions to tips@propublica.org. How old are you? 18-25 What is your education level? Choose an option How do you identify your race/ ethnicity? How do you identify your race/ ethnicity?
  • Asian or Asian-American
  • Black
  • Hispanic or Latino/a
  • Middle Eastern or North African
  • Native American or Indigenous American
  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
  • White
  • Other
  • Prefer Not To Share
  • Select all that apply.
We may have follow-up questions. What's the best way to reach you? We may have follow-up questions. What's the best way to reach you?
  • Email
  • Phone
  • Other
  • Select all that apply
SPREAD THE WORD. Thank you for sharing with us. Help us reach as many people as possible in order to do more reporting.
  • How did you find this form? I saw it on/in:
  • How did you find this form? I saw it on/in:
  • ProPublica
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • Instagram
  • Someone sent it to me directly
  • An article
  • A ProPublica newsletter
  • Another forum, newsletter, blog, group I subscribe to
  • Other
Do you have ideas for getting the word out? Who else should we talk to? Do you want to be notified when ProPublica publishes big investigations? Do you want to be notified when ProPublica publishes big investigations? *
  • Yes
  • No
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The text being discussed is available at
https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/do-blocked-railroad-crossings-endanger-your-community-tell-us-more
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