AGs ask court to restore railroad crossings rights

Attorneys general from 18 states, including Washington, and the District of Columbia have asked that the U.S. Supreme Court restore the rights states and local governments once had to regulate how long trains can block railroad crossings.

Absent that power, the public is put at risk, the attorneys general say in their brief. Countless people have died when emergency vehicles were delayed at rail crossings, The Kansas City Star reported this month in an investigation of railroad safety lapses.

The problem has only gotten worse in recent years for many communities across the country, the Star reported, as the rail industry’s practices have made blocked crossings more common.

The group led by Indiana Attorney General Theodore E. Rokita requests that the high court hear Ohio’s appeal of that state’s Supreme Court decision this year invalidating the Ohio law that allowed authorities to levy fines on railroads when their trains blocked a crossing for more than five minutes.

The Ohio Supreme Court said that law was preempted by federal law and could not be enforced.

In addition to Indiana, attorneys general who signed on come from Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

Several state and federal courts in recent years also have negated the authority of other states and local governments to enforce their blocked crossings laws. Those courts have ruled that only the federal government can regulate train movements, but Congress has failed to pass any laws limiting how long trains can block a crossing.

The brief that the attorneys general filed in support of Ohio’s appeal says state and local regulations are needed because the lack of rules puts public safety at risk.