VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - It’s a frustrating stop-and-go situation for drivers in parts of Southwest Georgia. Stalled trains are blocking intersections, causing major traffic backups and delays that are now stretching into people’s daily routines.

Lowndes County resident Rhonda Wright said, “Now you know, I don’t know if it’s either parked or stuck. And that was always a mystery...and again it was always heck waiting.”

The Federal Railroad Administration blocked crossing data shows 48 reports in the last 30 days in the state of Georgia, with 10 of those impacting residents in Southwest Georgia.

Citing first responders not being able to cross the tracks, people climbing through or over the train cars, and daily commuters stuck and asking why this is happening.

WALB was able to get an answer. A CSX spokesperson told us there can be a variety of reasons for a crossing being blocked including shifts in meeting the needs of local customers, meeting up with other trains, or responding to track conditions that require additional time to clear a crossing.

“It is inconvenient when you’re going to work. So those of us that go to work we kind of preset our schedule to make sure we don’t run into the train time,” Wright said.

Another resident on Morrison Road says, “I would say almost daily it stops for sometimes 10 minutes to a couple of hours. We have to use the dirt road which is not always safe especially when it rains.”

But it’s not just impacting those on Morrison Road, a nearby neighbor says, “We live off of Howell Road on Shelton Road. We got blocked on Thanksgiving morning for 2+ hours and missed Thanksgiving with our family. It had to be a line of about six cars trying to get out.”

It’s even impacting those who aren’t blocked.

One person said, “It’s a major inconvenience to the folks living on that road. I’ve almost been hit a couple of times with people trying to back up out when it’s blocked.”

CSX response to this impact was:

“We recognize that stopped trains can be frustrating and we work hard to prevent this whenever possible. Our operations team is committed to reducing occurrences that affect drivers or normal traffic flow.”

Wright said, “If it’s stuck here, then usually down there it’s not across the track. But sometimes it is both ways. People that familiar with the wait kind of have it memorized and they know when to wait and wait or when to go around it.”

However, CSX does provide 24/7 communication to first responders through its Public Safety Coordination Center, allowing them to identify and determine how best to manage crossings where challenges exist.

CSX says they have provided public officials with direct contacts for local personnel, and they encourage residents to call these contacts if any urgent issues arise.

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