Gallegos urges Houstonians to ‘file complaints each and every time’ trains block roadways

Houston City Council member Robert Gallegos is urging local residents to take action and report incidents of stopped and idling trains blocking roadways around the city, which he said are not just an inconvenience, but a safety concern.

Gallegos took to Facebook to express his frustration with the ongoing problem, stating that the blockages aren’t just leaving residents stranded, but interfering with emergency response as well.

“Cutting off major thoroughfares and neighborhood streets leaves our residents stranded, frustrated and first responders must scramble to find alternate, longer routes. I urge residents to report blocked crossings to [Union Pacific] as well as the Federal Railroad Administration,” Gallegos said in his Facebook post. “We need to file complaints each and every time we encounter blocked crossings so that federal regulators understand how widespread and problematic this has become.”

Gallegos shared a phone number for reporting the stopped trains to Union Pacific – 888-877-7267 – as well as fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings – a link to the federal website for reporting blocked crossings. He had previously shared on Twitter a letter he sent to Lance Fritz, the CEO of Union Pacific, seeking the railroad’s cooperation in dealing with the problem.

“While noise from the train horns and blocked street crossings by idling trains is not new in our area, it has become increasingly frequent and excessive,” Gallegos said in the letter he tweeted. 

Gallegos reminded Fritz that he and other elected officials had met with Union Pacific two years ago seeking to improve the situation with trains blocking roadways, and Union Pacific had committed to improvements. Yet, the situation has actually worsened, and one recent train blocked multiple streets for eight hours.

“The community is tired of the disruption being caused by poor train movement in our area,” Gallegos said in his letter. “We are requesting that Union Pacific take immediate action to improve train operations, movement and work with us to minimize the impact on Houston’s East End community.