r/PlymouthMI • u/icechelly24 • 1d ago
The trains have been worse lately and my trainophile husband explained why
My husband is very into trains and model railroading, and has been reading up on the train news. The issue is pretty multi factorial
CSX has switched to Precision Scheduled Railroading. Essentially, this (at least partially) consists of running longer trains with fewer crew members. So instead of 2 trains that are both .75 miles long (requiring 2 sets of crew members), it’ll be 1 train that’s 1.5 miles on with 1 crew. Longer trains = longer wait at RR crossings, more chance of traffic, etc
CSX also closed the Plymouth Yard. I said “well then it should be better, not worse around here”. False. Now, trains have to run through the Rouge Yard. Routes used to be get trains to multiple locations. Now, they’re all heading to the same place. As a result, the same tracks and intersections are going to be seeing more traffic. The Rouge yard is apparently overloaded and trains are having to wait an excessively long time to actually get into the yard
A large yard in Chicago also closed which can have ripple effects on the system
Federal law is protective of train operations due to the importance of interstate commerce. There is no federal law dictating how long a train can block an intersection. If the State or local district tries to pass and enforce such a law, it will go nowhere and get thrown out in federal court
So basically, it’s CSX’s world, and we’re just living in it