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APR 2, 8 199-2 <br />BOOK <br />It takes coordination for the two trains to reach this 3 -mile <br />stretch of passing track at exactly the same time. This operation <br />keeps trains moving so they do not block railroad crossings. Mr. <br />Charron indicated to the Board on an enlarged chart the location of <br />the passing track in Gifford. There is also one siding in the <br />Gifford area which services FEC customers twice a day and that <br />causes a delay of about 5 minutes to stop and back up into that <br />ramp area. Mr. Charron emphasized that the FEC makes its money on <br />timely delivery of goods and makes every effort to keep the trains <br />moving. <br />Mr. Charron pointed out that the FEC is sensitive to the <br />concerns of people in heavily populated areas. Every engineer <br />knows the length of his train and where the crossings are located <br />and they make every effort not to block crossings. Mr. Charron <br />advised that FEC has an emergency phone available to Indian River <br />County, 567-2906, which rings in the train master's office in Fort <br />Pierce. If a train is blocking a crossing, the train master can <br />contact the locomotive engineer to move the train or at least to <br />let an emergency vehicle through by splitting the train. He felt <br />that the particular situation which occurred in Gifford where all <br />crossings were blocked for an extended period of time was'a rare <br />situation and FEC will make every effort not to let it recur. <br />Commissioner Bird agreed that it may have been one long delay <br />where trains were not coordinated. He thought it is unfortunate <br />that in our county the passing track happens to fall in an area <br />where there are four crossings, so there is potential to block most <br />if not all of those crossings. <br />Mr. Charron indicated his purpose was to work with the Board <br />to find a solution. One viable solution is an overpass and as a <br />county grows, this seems to be an answer to the problem. In <br />response to a question from the Board, he stated that he was not <br />prepared to authorize any expenditure on behalf of the railroad for <br />an overpass, but he was aware that there are laws making the State <br />responsible for overpasses. <br />Mr. Charron advised the Board that there is a 25 mile -per -hour <br />speed limit for trains going through the city of Vero Beach. This <br />speed limit affects the situation, for example, when the dispatcher <br />tells a northbound train to speed up to make a better "meet" at a <br />passing track and the train cannot speed up because of the speed <br />limit. Through the years all other cities in Florida have raised <br />the speed limit on trains that go through town. In that way trains <br />pass the crossings in less time. <br />Commissioner Wheeler asked if the FEC has approached or <br />42 <br />