WICHITA, Kan. — BNSF Railway is challenging a Kansas law limiting how long trains can block intersections, saying only the federal government, not the states, has the authority to regulation the issue.
A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case last week in a special session at Wichita State University, the Wichita Eagle reports.
At issue is a 100-year-old Kansas law that says trains can only block a crossing for 10 minutes, after which time the engineer must either move the train or uncouple cars to create a gap for road traffic to pass. In December 2016, the Chase County (Kan.) Sheriff’s department cited BNSF for a train that blocked two crossings for four hours.
The lawyer representing BNSF, Jody Sanders, said because railroads are engaged in interstate commerce, they can only be regulated by the federal government, so as not to be subjected to a patchwork of state and local laws.
State Solicitor General Kristafer Ailsleiger said the federal government does not regulate how long trains can block crossings, and without the state law, railroads could block them “without any time limit or remedy.”
A ruling is expected within a few months.
The full Wichita Eagle report is available here.
