BURKE, Va. 鈥� Several people have been killed on area railroad tracks in recent years, but leaders said Thursday that people continue to walk along or across tracks despite the dangers.
As they marked the first national Rail Safety Week, Fairfax County leaders spoke at the Virginia Railway Express station in Burke. And their warnings were driven home by a freight train that interrupted remarks by VRE CEO Doug Allen.
鈥淎s you can see, trains can come at any time, in any direction,鈥� he said, pausing as the train thundered by. 鈥淣o one heard that coming and that train couldn鈥檛 stop for another mile,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nybody that was on that track would be dead.鈥�
Safety advocates say technological improvements have made trains quieter, giving people less of a warning that a train is approaching.
鈥淚 want you to think about when you woke up this morning,鈥� said Fairfax County Supervisor John Cook, 鈥渁nd between that time and now, someone in this country has been hit by a train.鈥�
Railroads are 鈥渘ot built for pedestrians on the tracks, and yet we鈥檝e had too many tragic accidents,鈥� he added.
In Virginia, 72 people were injured or killed while trespassing on train tracks last year, according to County Supervisor Jeff McKay. Leaders say Fairfax County sees more train traffic than many other parts of the U.S., and a major freight corridor runs through the eastern part of the county.
鈥淭here were several fatalities just in this section of track,鈥� in recent years, said county police officer Chris Cosgriff, as he stood on the platform of the Burke station. 鈥淭here was one, in fact, just behind where I鈥檓 standing.鈥�
He said the problem has been reduced here since a protective fence was put up, but that it remains an issue elsewhere.
On bikes, he and other officers patrol areas where people are still known to cross, and they hand out summons for trespassing. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e usually just doing it just to save time,鈥� he said. He often finds himself educating high school-aged kids about the dangers of crossing the tracks.
In June, a teen out hiking , as she walked across a railroad bridge near Clifton.
