Federal railroad administrator comes to Alabama to hear about crossing blockages in the Black Belt

The nation’s railroad administrator came to Alabama last week to talk about how to address blocked railroad crossings in Birmingham and the Black Belt. 

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) welcomed Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose to Alabama last week to discuss the impact of blocked railroad crossings on residents in her district. 

“I extend my sincere thanks to Administrator Bose for answering our calls and visiting our community to see the unacceptable train blockages that continue to impact our residents,” Sewell said. “Together with local leaders, we had a robust and productive conversation to identify and work toward solutions in the short and long term.” 

In a statement issued after the meeting, Bose agreed that blocked railroad crossings “is an issue FRA is paying close attention to, and we look forward to continued coordination with the Congresswoman and local officials to identify solutions that improve the quality of life for affected residents.”

“As we discussed, we encourage individuals to report incidents of blocked crossings through our online portal and communities to pursue federal funding opportunities to minimize these disruptions and increase safety,” Bose said.

As for remedies, communities can apply for assistance through the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program funded at $500,000 per year by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Meanwhile, the FRA will improve its online portal used to report blocked railroad crossings. 

Bose met with Sewell in November 2021 to discuss blocked railroad crossings, and Sewell helped secure key provisions in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address train blockages, according to a statement from Sewell’s office.