Trespassing on railroad property is risky business

CSX officials warn of dangers on tracks

Lisa Trigg The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Sitting back off the road spanning a scenic creek, a railroad trestle might seem like a peaceful, out-of-the-way place to hang out, until …

A freight train comes through.

There you are, caught high above the shallow or fast-moving water. Do you jump, or make a run for it to get off the trestle?

 It’s a decision that no one should have to make, simply because no one should be trespassing on the trestle in the first place. Yet each year, hundreds of people are killed or injured nationwide while trespassing on railroad rights-of-way and property.

Terre Haute has already seen several violations in the first few months of 2010, and Indiana Operation Lifesaver is teaming with CSX Transportation and Indiana Rail Road to ask the public to stay off trestles and train tracks.

 “With it already warming up, we’ve had two to three trespassing reports on that same trestle over Otter Creek where a father and son were injured last summer,” said Jessica Feder, executive director of Indiana Operation Lifesaver. “I don’t want to see a repeat of what happened last year.”

In that case, people from a nearby neighborhood were swimming in the creek and some were climbing onto the trestle to jump into the water below. When a train approached, a 21-year-old man and his 3-year-old son were not able to get off the trestle in time. The freight train struck the father, knocking both of them to the creek bed below. Both were hospitalized for their injuries.

Railroad trestles and tracks are private property, not public walkways, and a person arrested for trespassing on railroad property faces up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine for that violation.

Feder said Terre Haute seems to be a hotspot for railroad trespassing. There has been one confirmed report of people hiding in a train boxcar in the area so far this year, she said.

It is also believed that one college student fell to his death from a train trestle over the Wabash River in May 2009. The young man’s body was found in the river at Vincennes days after he was reported missing. He was known to have frequented a certain trestle that spans the river.

Another three trespassing incidents on railroad property have already been reported this March and April, Feder said, and she believes from experience that there are many other trespassing incidents that are not reported.

Gary Sease of CSX Transportation said trespassing is a longstanding problem for the railroad company in Terre Haute, as well as in the 23 states where the company does business.

But for some reason, Terre Haute seems to be the hotspot of trespassing activity, he said, even more so than northern parts of the state where CSX has more rail lines.

The railroad industry has made a lot of progress in reducing the number of vehicle/train collisions at rail crossings through education of the motoring public. In 2005, Indiana had 177 crashes at crossings, resulting in 21 deaths. By 2009, the crash number had dropped to 98 accidents, with 14 deaths.

However, trespassing incidents in 2005 resulted in 14 deaths and 7 injuries. By 2009, the number of trespassing deaths was 13 and the number of injuries had risen to 13.

“It’s just something we’ve not made as much progressing deterring as we’d like,” Sease said of trespassing, as evidenced by the statistics.

The railroad companies recognize that a railroad track may provide a shortcut between locations for someone on foot, but that is no reason to take the more dangerous route.

“It astounds us,” Sease said. “Too often, people choose convenience over safety.”

He also noted that more and more people are using headsets to listen to personal devices while they walk, making someone walking down the tracks less likely to notice an approaching train.

It can take a 12,000- to 15,000-ton train a long time to stop, Sease said. So even if the train engineer sees someone on the tracks ahead, it may be too late to avoid the collision.

Operation Lifesaver’s Feder said special railroad patrols are being planned for the coming weeks in Terre Haute, with an emphasis on reducing trespassing.

Anyone who sees trespassers on railroad property and trestles is asked to notify local police by calling Terre Haute Police at (812) 238-1661 or the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department at (812) 462-3226.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.

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