ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -- Elkhart County Commissioner Brad Rogers and Jackson Township Fire Chief Bill Dunlap are currently working to address concerns regarding blocked railroad crossings in the New Paris/Jackson Township area.

In New Paris, railroad crossings at CR 29, CR 42, CR 146, CR 142, CR23, CR46 and CR50 have been blocked for many hours at a time by trains from the Norfolk Southern railroad.

“This is a life safety issue…The public is tired of being held hostage by these trains." said County Commissioner Rogers. 

Chief Dunlap states this blocking is a serious impediment to emergency response crews.

“The CR146 crossing is about a 1/8 mile from our station and that is our main lifeline to our western coverage rea. This includes the portion of Union Township that we are contracted to provide ambulance service for. This is affecting more than just Jackson Township.” said Chief Dunlap.

Local leaders have asked for Norfolk Southern to either stop parking trains on these crossings or to break trains that are forced to stop and wait at these crossings.

You can report blocked crossings to the Federal Rail Administration by using their online blocked crossing incident reporter.