May 29, 1999
Upgrades allow for increase in train speed through Tiffin
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
Speeds of trains coming through Tiffin may as much as double in the coming months.
Track structure and crossing gate upgrades in Tiffin have been improved to allow the increase in train speed, Gary Wollenhaupt, director of corporate communications for CSX Transportation said.
He said the current limit of 35 miles per hour will be raised to 50 on a stretch of track between Clinton Avenue and Monroe Street, and from 35 to 50 between Wall and Nelson streets.
"They are the maximum speeds allowed, but that's not to say everything will be going that fast all the time," Wollenhaupt said.
The increase is to go into effect Tuesday, and the speed limit will be increased 10 miles per hour per week until the new limits are attained, he said. The phased approach is intended to allow the community to adjust to the new train speeds.
Tiffin City Administrator Wayne Stephens said the major danger to the public will be at crossings where there are no gates.
"It is already hard to judge the speed of a train," he said. Because of their size, trains appear to be going more slowly than they are.
Stephens compared trains to airplanes in that, when they are landing, airplanes appear to be hanging in the air, but are traveling at speeds in excess of 160 miles per hour.
Tiffin Police Chief Tom Steyer said pedestrians should stay away from the tracks and cross only at designated crossings. Wollenhaupt advised motorists always to obey traffic signs and gates as trains pass through town.
The speed increase is to allow CSXT to improve its operating efficiency and to minimize long delays to motorists at highway-rail grade crossings.
At crossings with gates and lights, the sensors were moved farther away from the crossings to allow more time for the faster trains to reach them.
Already, most of CSXT's tracks in the rest of the county have similar speed limits, Wollenhaupt said.
"The sections in Tiffin are catching up with the rest of the county," he said.
There are no state or local laws governing train speed, Stephens said.
The Federal Railroad Administration governs the speeds of trains, based on the characteristics of the tracks, Wollenhaupt said. The fastest a train can go in the United States is 79.
The CSX tracks run east and west through town, and are the only ones except the port authority lines that come into town from the north and exit to the east.