Chase County and Burlington Northern Santa Fe are at odds — again — over crossing closures.
Chase County Sheriff Richard Dorneker says two crossings were recently taken offline by the railroad, affecting possible emergency services in the Norton Creek Road area. Dorneker says he reached out to BNSF. He was first told the closures were the only way the railroad could replace the tracks at those crossings and the representative later hung up when Dorneker pressed for an emergency services plan.
Dorneker says he has contacted US Senator Jerry Moran’s office to see what Chase County can do in this case. He also accused BNSF of “strongly ignoring” the public safety aspect of closing train crossings in rural areas.
This is the latest battle between the county and the railroad. Chase County had filed suit against the railroad in 2016, saying a train had parked on a siding for four hours — well above the 10 minutes allowed by state law before trains have to be moved or uncoupled. In siding with the railroad in 2018, the Kansas Court of Appeals said federal law allowed for longer park times, thus overruling the state law on the topic.
Two years ago, BNSF announced it was installing a second line to its Southern Transcon, the railroad’s main line from Chicago to Los Angeles, with work focused from Ellinor, an unincorporated community about three miles southwest of Saffordville, to El Dorado.
Regarding the current situation, Burlington Northern Santa Fe issued a written response in which the railroad stated, “closure notices were sent to the Chase County Road and Bridges department on Friday morning. Rail replacement and maintenance is necessary to ensure the safety of our crews and the public. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
BNSF has also announced a push of track crossing repairs from Gardner to east Chase County that’s now underway. Crossings are supposed to be offline for a day or two per location as the track is repaired or replaced.
