TERLTON, Okla. — Steven Strahm lives in Terlton. It’s a small community off Highway 48 between Cleveland and Mannford.
Trains come through town frequently while Steven Strahm sits back and watches.
When 2 News met with him at a railroad crossing in Terlton, a train passed by in a matter of minutes. However, Strahm said it’s not always that quick. In the worst cases, trains stop at the crossing for thirty minutes or more, blocking traffic. Strahm has been on the wrong side of those extreme cases, at one time, waiting more than an hour.
Just the day before he met with 2 News, he waited at the crossing for about 45 minutes.
“After about fifteen minutes, I called [BNSF], and I said, look, it’s been almost thirty minutes. I said, why hasn’t this train moved?” Strahm told 2 News.
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Most likely because the train was letting another pass at a split in the tracks, miles down from the crossing.
2 News couldn’t reach BNSF for comment.
“I wasn’t feeling real good, and I hadn’t been with my medication,” Strahm said, “It’s not safe to drive on it or so I don’t.
Still, Strahm waited and waited until he could get to his house, just a stone’s throw away from the tracks.
A 2019 Oklahoma bill allowed cities to fine train companies for blocking intersections.
However, a 2022 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision upheld a ruling by a federal judge that overturned that Oklahoma bill.
The federal judge ruled that states have no power to regulate railways.
Strahm said the latest incident is not the first. He's had a few instances of waiting 30 minutes or more. Oklahoma lawmakers have passed legislation trying to prevent situations like this.
In Oklahoma, law enforcement and cities have the right to ticket operators who stop at a crossing for more than ten minutes. The fine is up to $1,000 per violation.
Strahm likes the sound of that, but more than anything, he’s worried one of these days, the train could block someone in an emergency.
“It could be dangerous,” Strahm said.
It’s a complicated issue. For people in Terlton, or other rural communities, the county commissioners are the ones to contact. Strahm hadn’t reached out to them.
2 News did so on his behalf and will update coverage upon their response.
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