San Marco drivers stuck waiting over an hour for trains stopped on tracks

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New pictures show people climbing a train in the San Marco area that had been stopped on the tracks for almost an hour.

A resident who Action News Jax spoke with says this happens on a daily basis in this area.

He even says on some days first responders have had to turn around because of the delays.

Frank Birk who lives in the San Marco community says this causes a traffic headache.

“You have the trucks, cars, and music going. The dog starts barking and it kind of starts your morning off on the wrong foot,” says Birk

Birk says he has seen many people climb on the trains, just to get to the other side.

“My main concern is a lot of foot traffic and also bicycles the train sits there for an hour or so and they will actually climb over the train,” says Birk.

We reached out to the train company, Florida East Coast Railway to learn what caused the delay and if anything is being done to keep it from happening again.

We have yet to hear back, so I went to the city for answers.

We spoke with Jacksonville City Councilwoman Leanna Cumber.

“The challenge is the trains are moving to all the yards across the river we have four trains going into that,” says Cumber.

Norfolk Southern, CSX, FEC, and Amtrak all go to that one yard.

“So, when they all come into the yard, logistically it’s hard to keep all the pieces moving,” says Cumber.

She adds the city acquired a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety Improvement Grant or CRISI Grant last year for 35 million dollars.

Cumber is hopeful that funding could help address Jacksonville railroad issues, through new projects.

Councilwomen Cumber wants people to be patient because it could take another year or two for that project to start.

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