Drivers frustrated by stopped train at busy OKC intersection

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Drivers were frustrated Tuesday morning during rush hour after they hit a roadblock – a stopped train.

It happened at the intersection of Britton and Western around 7:45 a.m. The train did not start moving again until after 8:30 p.m. One driver told KFOR she had been sitting in traffic at the stalled train for about 40 minutes when she got out of her car and asked the driver behind her to back up so she could turn around.

KFOR reached out to BNSF, the train operator, to ask what caused the issue but we did not get an answer to that question. Instead, BNSF sent this statement:

BNSF trains operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We do our best to limit the amount of time any crossing is blocked on a mainline track. When our trains experience a situation that forces them to stop, BNSF works to correct or resolve the situation as quickly as possible to resume the safe movement of trains. If there is a mechanical issue, however, for safety, we won’t be able to move the train until it is safe to do so. We will look into this case to see if this is a recurring issue and try to improve communication among the dispatchers and crews where possible to reduce the time the train is occupying a crossing. Rail Crossing Impacts - Association of American Railroads (aar.org)

Inside Bubbles and Bows Groomers, Kimberly Coman said she can watch the trains out the front windows from her grooming table.

"It's never a dull moment around here," said Coman.

She said she has watched close calls, crashes and stalled trains on the railroad tracks for years.

"A lot of people are frustrated with the train and mainly the intersection itself," said Coman.

It even delayed one of her clients.

"She said ‘I've been sitting in this traffic for a half hour trying to get to the light.’ And I was like, ‘were you there when the train stopped?’ And she said ‘yes’," said Coman.

Drivers at Bigger Better Movers next door have also been delayed often by slow moving or halted trains.

"We do get stuck, late coming in,” said Grayson Huffman. “It is more towards the mornings that it's slow or stopped."

Stopped trains at railroad crossings across the Oklahoma metro have been an on-going problem in recent years.

The Oklahoma legislature even passed a bill in 2019 that would fine train companies for blocking intersections. BNSF filed a protective order to stop the law after three of its trains were cited for violations. A federal judge later ruled states have no power when it comes to railway regulations.

The intersection is the same place where a woman was hit and killed by a train in late February.