Traffic piled up at the Five Points intersection on Thursday afternoon after a disabled train blocked the railroad crossing on Delaware Avenue.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Ally Lanasa)
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A train experiencing a mechanical issue blocked the railroad crossing on Delaware Avenue Thursday afternoon, causing traffic to pile up on East Fifth Street, North Main Street and North Cherry Street.
Marysville City officials learned about the incident from CSX at about 3:54 p.m. Thursday.
They alerted the public to avoid the area, but many drivers were already en route.
Marysville Police Chief Tony Brooks said the railroad crossings were cleared at 4:41 p.m. Thursday.
In a statement sent to the Journal-Tribune on Friday, CSX apologized “to residents of Marysville for any disruption caused yesterday when mechanical issues resulted in one of our trains blocking the Delaware Avenue crossing.”
CSX officials also said, “We understand that it can be frustrating when trains block road crossings and we make every effort to prevent that from happening, whenever possible.”
Trains may block railroad crossings at times because of mechanical or operational issues in addition to standard train stops “for mandatory safety inspections or federally-regulated crew changes,” the statement read.
CSX officials added that the “goal is to safely and efficiently, transport customer freight and we appreciate the patience of motorists and pedestrians waiting for our trains to pass safely through the area as we serve local businesses and families throughout the Ohio region. CSX maintains an open line of communication with local officials and our operations team is committed to reducing occurrences that affect drivers or normal traffic flow.”