GRIFFITH | Given the right -- or wrong -- circumstances, an 8,000-foot-long train could block railroad crossings at Broad Street, Main Street and 45th Street for a significant time, Town Councilman Stan Dobosz said.
"If we had an ambulance call, our vehicle would have to go all the way up to Ridge Road to get to the other side of the tracks," Dobosz said.
That happened recently, Police Chief Ronald Kottka said. Fortunately, it was not a life-threatening situation.
Still, it shows the impact increased train traffic could have in Griffith if Canadian National Railway succeeds in its quest to buy the EJ&E Railway.
In Griffith's case, the number of trains would climb from nine to 34 per day on those tracks, which run east into Griffith and bend northward to the Kirk switching yard in Gary, Dobosz said.
Because of the sharp curve in the tracks between Broad and Main streets, the railroad speed limit is 20 mph. A train moving that slow would take a long time to pass, Dobosz said.
