STATEWIDE — Trains blocking railroad crossings for long periods of time can be aggravating, but legally they are allowed to do it.
The Indiana State Supreme Court handed down that decision Monday in a lawsuit between Norfolk-Southern and the Allen County city of New Haven.
Norfolk-Southern sued the city of New Haven over it’s recent crackdown on trains blocking railroad crossings. New Haven cited an Indiana state law that makes it illegal for a train to block a crossing for more than 10 minutes.
The law says cities can fine train companies if they violate the law. The city of New Haven began enforcing the law more strictly over the last year.
Norfolk-Southern sued citing a federal law that gives sole regulation of the nation’s railroads to Congress and not the states or cities within the states.
The state Supreme Court accepted the Norfolk-Southern’s challenge, essentially leaving Indiana’s law on the matter null and void.
(PHOTO: Julie Thursten Photography/Getty Images)
