Nassau woman says trains block her street for hours

Deanna Brown said her parents have lived off Tracy Road in Hilliard for years, and trains have always been an issue, but now she said they are becoming a safety hazard.

Brown said in the last three months, trains have been stopping on the tracks for hours, blocking the only way to and from the home.

She sent Action News Jax a video she said she took Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. of a train stopped on the tracks while she waits for it to move.

In that video, she said it was the third time that day a train had been stopped on the tracks.

Brown, who's a mother of two, said the train kept her from picking her 6 year old son up from school.

She also said that she recently moved into her parents' home to help care for her father, who needs a liver transplant.

Brown said he is at the top of the list to receive a new liver and could get that life changing call any day now.

She said her parents have been staying in a hotel because they worry a train could jeopardize her father's opportunity.

"They are so scared that a train is going to block them and when they get that call for the transplant they're not going to make it," said Brown.

Brown also tells Action News that she and her mother have called CSX dozens of times about the trains stopping near their home.

She showed our reporter a letter from CSX acknowledging the issue and listing a number to call if they are blocked in.

Brown said she used that number nine times Wednesday when she was waiting on a train for hours.

"I called corporate yesterday. After several attempts, they tell me they were in meetings and when I finally got through, they put me to voicemail and didn't even call me back, says Brown.

Brown said the response she received from the number CSX gave her worries her and what would happen if there was an actual emergency.

"They are just sitting there for longer and longer and I am scared that one day something is going to happen to one of my children or my parents and we cant get any help back here," said Brown.

Action News Jax called CSX to see what they had to say about the troubles Brown is experiencing. Kristin Seay from CSX Corporate Communications sent us the following statement.

"We understand the frustrations voiced by some community members regarding blockages at a railroad crossing in Nassau County as a result of rail operations by CSX, Amtrak and Norfolk Southern through this area. CSX has met with the community and state and local officials to understand the issue and will continue working to minimize impacts to residents where possible. We will continue to work with government agencies to identify options for alternate access."

Cox Media Group