Stonington to seek federal funds for safety upgrades at rail crossings
Stonington — The president of Amtrak has told the town in a letter that federal funding may be available to improve safety at the Walker’s Dock and Elihu Island rail crossings.
First Selectman Rob Simmons, with the help of U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, as well as U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, have been pressing Amtrak in recent months to make safety improvements to the crossings before there is a tragedy if a vehicle gets stuck on the tracks.
One of the crossings, at Walker’s Dock, is busy in the summer, with boaters accessing a marina. The crossings are about one-tenth of a mile apart.
Safety upgrades would not only prevent a vehicle from getting on the tracks when a train is approaching but alert an oncoming train if a vehicle is on the tracks, allowing it to stop in time.
The upgrades also would mean trains no longer would have to sound their horns four times when approaching the crossings, which is something neighbors have complained about for years.
In his Dec. 19 letter to Simmons, Amtrak President and CEO Charles W. Moorman detailed the requirement of so-called quiet zones where horns are not sounded.
He said that when the rail line was electrified 20 years ago, the Federal Railroad Administration agreed that safety upgrades, such as track sensors and quad gates, were not necessary. Such improvements would be needed to make the area a quiet zone.
He told Simmons that in 2015, Congress passed the FAST Act, which called for $1 billion in railroad infrastructure and safety grants. While Congress has not funded the program, it has appropriated $50 million for grants limited to railroad safety in fiscal year 2016.
Simmons said this week the town would seek the federal funding to pay for the $902,000 project.
He said it makes no sense for Amtrak to continue to pay many millions of dollars in damages for crashes at crossings instead of paying for safety upgrades to prevent them.
He said the horns are inadequate because, by the time an accelerating northbound train can see the two crossings, it is too late for them to stop if there is a car on the tracks.
“Blowing the horn does no good. It only tells a person on the tracks they have 10 seconds to live,” said Simmons, who added he has timed the trains with a stopwatch.
He said he would seek out the help of Blumenthal, Murphy and Courtney in trying to acquire some of the grant funding.
“This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue,” said Simmons, a former Republican congressman. “It’s a safety issue.”
He said he did not know how long it could take to get an answer on funding.
“But this has to be fixed,” he said.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.