A railroad company is promoting safety awareness to advise people on how to avoid accidents with trains.
“Our job is to make sure that our communities are safe,” said Steven Solomon, an officer with CN (Canadian National) Police Service.
CN, a multinational railroad company based in Canada, has its own police service as a Class I railroad. Solomon is one officer promoting Rail Safety Week 2022 by partnering with the Greenwood Police Department.
According to data provided by CN, there were more than 2,000 incidents involving trains in the United States in 2021, including 236 fatalities and 668 serious injuries.
Leflore County, a hub of railroad activity in the Delta, has also had its share of incidents involving trains over the last year.
In February, a man driving a truck was struck by an oncoming Amtrak train at a rail crossing on County Road 252.
In May, a man attempting to walk across a railroad track in Baptist Town was hit by the exterior handrail on an oncoming freight train.
Solomon said that trying to beat an oncoming train in a race is not an advisable move.
“The train has the right of way,” he said. “They’re big. They’re fast. It takes a train approximately one mile to get stopped. ... 18 football fields is the stopping distance of a loaded freight train at 55 miles per hour. That’s why it’s always the responsibility of the motorist to yield the right of way and obey the signs and signals.”
He advised using common sense — for example, not walking on railroad tracks — to avoid train collisions. He added that many railroads are considered private property and walking on the tracks is considered trespassing.
For railroad crossings, such as the one at the Amtrak station in downtown Greenwood, adhering to the signs and lights is essential.
“If a vehicle is approaching a crossing such as the one here at Carrollton Avenue and the lights are flashing, that’s not time to gun it,” he said. “That means that they have to come to a complete stop. When you have the lights and gates going and the gates come down, it is against the law to go around the gates.”
Solomon said he will appear at Tuesday’s meeting of the Greenwood City Council to address any questions the members have about rail safety.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
