HOUSTON — Union Pacific will adjust its operations to avoid running trains during the primary arrival and departure times for students at a Houston high school, the railroad said today (Tuesday, Dec. 17).
The move on a UP line adjacent to Houston’s Milby High School comes after a 15-year-old student was killed while crossing the tracks on the way to school last week [see “Houston mayor wants Union Pacific to help pay …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 12, 2024]. The resulting outcry has seen Houston Mayor John Whitmore call for UP to help pay for a $6.5 million pedestrian overpass, as well as a petition drive to replace the school’s principal over criticism she failed to provide emotional support for grieving classmates.
KHOU-TV reports that the decision came after a meeting between Whitmore and railroad representatives. The station reports UP said in a statement that it “agreed to immediately adjust our operations to avoid running trains near Milby High School for one hour during school drop-off and pick-up times and extending the sidewalks to enhance the crossing, while we collaborate on long-term solutions and additional rail safety outreach efforts.”
The funeral for 15-year-old Sergio Rodriguez was held Monday, Dec. 16. His family is suing Union Pacific and the unnamed individual who was operating the train, citing negligence in not fencing off the rail right-of-way, among other issues.
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