No More Tickets For Trains Blocking Tracks

INDIANAPOLIS  — The Indiana Supreme Court has struck down a more than 150-year-old state law that allowed local governments to fine railroads when a stopped train blocks a street for more than 10 minutes.

 

The justices unanimously agreed in Monday’s ruling that the 1865 Blocked Crossing Statute was pre-empted by the 1995 Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act. The act prohibits states from enacting a law or rule that manages or governs rail transportation.

 

Norfolk Southern Railway Co. challenged the statute after receiving multiple tickets in Allen County.