Fifth Ward residents concerned with recent train delays: 'It's always been a problem'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- First responders responded to another tragic incident involving a train on Tuesday morning.

Houston police say one person has died after they were hit and killed on the northwest side.

They say it happened at the train crossing on Antoine at Tidwell at around 8 a.m., but haven't released any information about how or why the person was on the tracks.

Accidents like these are, sadly, not uncommon in the Houston area.

The Federal Railroad Administration and the US-DOT are moving forward with finding ways to improve safety and quality of life around train crossings.

"They're just parked... like they went on lunch break or something," Henry Allen, a trucker stuck at a railroad crossing, said. "Very inconvenient and inconsiderate."

A sound and sight all too familiar for all who commute or live near a train track across Houston.

"It's always been a problem with the trains every day," Fifth Ward resident Andre Coffey said. "Sometimes, it stays on the track for hours."

Frustration mounts from the Fifth Ward to east of downtown and across neighborhoods in city that experience these kinds of delays by stopped trains consistently.

"The trains are getting longer right now. We see one-and-a-half to two-mile trains through the Houston complex, and they do have three-mile trains that come through in the middle of the night, a three-mile train if you put that into perspective, that's almost downtown to the loop," Lindsay Williams, a concerned Second Ward resident and president of Eastwood Wayside Lawndale Super neighborhood, said. "That's a long train."

The Federal Railroad Administration is looking into this, as they say they're concerned about the complexities of operating longer trains. Through their research, they say long trains blocking crossings can impact emergency response.

Right now, while the FRA looks into this, there is no current statute that restricts the length of trains or how long they can block crossings.

"Get the dollars and the studies in order to have the infrastructure to safely pass around trains," Williams said.

It's a fight she and others across these communities say they'll continue to fight until they see change.

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