Ask anyone in Trussville what a blocked railroad crossing means, and you won’t hear about freight efficiency or national logistics. You’ll hear about missed school pickups, delayed commutes, businesses cut off from customers and, most importantly, the fear that an ambulance or fire truck could lose precious minutes trying to reach someone in need. Those same concerns are shared in communities all across the state of Alabama.
That is why the proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern deserves far more than a discussion about corporate efficiencies. The Surface Transportation Board is not charged with deciding whether this merger benefits two railroad companies. Rather, its responsibility is to determine whether the merger serves the public interest. For Alabama communities, that determination should begin with a focus on public safety.
Railroads are indispensable to our state’s economy. They move the raw materials, manufactured goods and agricultural products that support thousands of Alabama jobs. We should welcome a strong freight network. But we should also expect that economic progress doesn’t come at the expense of the communities through which those trains travel every day.
Trussville already lives with the consequences of heavy rail traffic because of its proximity to a major Norfolk Southern rail yard. Residents regularly encounter blocked crossings that disrupt daily life and complicate emergency response. Trussville Mayor Ben Short has rightly argued that these are not merely transportation inconveniences, they are public safety concerns.
The data reinforce those concerns. According to Federal Railroad Administration blocked-crossing reports, the Chalkville Road crossing, which carries more than 13,000 vehicles each day, has been the subject of more than 40 blocked-crossing reports since 2022. Those reported incidents amount to an average of roughly four hours of blockage time per month, disrupting traffic along one of Trussville’s busiest corridors.
Now federal regulators are considering a transaction that, according to the railroads’ own filings, would increase both train traffic and freight tonnage moving through this corridor.
Supporters argue those increases are relatively small. But anyone who has sat at a railroad crossing knows that a few additional trains moving through an already congested corridor can mean longer waits, more unpredictable traffic and additional pressure on emergency responders, local businesses and commuters in general.
Mayor Short has asked for something entirely reasonable: if the railroads want approval for a merger that could increase local impacts, they should make binding commitments to reduce them. That means the railroads should invest in grade separations, bridges, sidings and other infrastructure improvements before, not years after, the transaction is approved. Local communities, including Trussville, should not be expected to absorb the costs of decisions made in corporate boardrooms to create value for shareholders.
This is not about opposing railroads. It is about accountability. Alabama is fortunate to have extensive railroad infrastructure and we recognize that railways are essential to keeping our economy moving. But infrastructure works best when it serves both commerce and the people who live alongside it.
The Surface Transportation Board should not settle for promises that local concerns will be addressed someday in the future. It should require enforceable commitments that protect public safety and create value for local communities from day one. Once a merger of this size is approved, impacted stakeholders have far less leverage to secure the improvements they need.
The public interest includes more than faster freight routes. It includes the parent trying to pick up a child from school, the small business owner waiting for customers and the paramedic racing to save a life. I represent those voices which deserve to be heard alongside those of the railroads.
If Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern want the benefits of a larger national rail system, they should also accept responsibility for the local communities that make that system work. Until they do, federal regulators should insist on real infrastructure commitments – not simply good intentions.
Danny Garrett, a Republican from Trussville, represents District 44 in the Alabama House of Representatives, where he serves as Chair of the Ways and Means Education Committee.
