Congressman Petri Testifies On Train Blockages

Congressman Tom Petri Wednesday tackled a complaint about a Canadian National train that blocked a railroad crossing on Highway 175 south of Fond du Lac for five hours. It happened in Byron on September 7th when the train crew “timed out” due to a federal law that requires a train crew to stop working when it reaches its allotted hours. The train was left blocking the crossing until a new crew could arrive. Congressman Tom Petri testified during a House committee meeting about railroad crossings being blocked and that incident. The federal lawmaker from Fond du Lac says the situation could have been easily remedied. He says the train could have been moved 50 feet and the crossing wouldn’t have been blocked. He told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee he will introduce a bill this week aimed at providing more flexibility in federal hours of service regulations.  His testimony occurred during a committee markup for the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014. To see YouTube video of his remarks click here