Berthold Taking on Railway Over Blocked Crossings

BERTHOLD, N.D. (AP) — City leaders in Berthold have decided to ticket trains that block both crossings in town for more than 20 minutes.

Mayor Alan Lee tells The Bismarck Tribune the blocked crossings put school buses behind schedule and present a potential problem for fire and ambulance crews. He says the town is trying to send a message to BNSF Railway.

Railroad spokeswoman Amy McBeth says communities have grown around the railroad, setting up a conflict between train and vehicle traffic. She says that since it's too expensive for towns to build overpasses or underpasses, the railroad tries to improve communication between train crews and dispatchers to limit times at crossings.

Enderlin has taken a similar tack against Canadian Pacific. That railroad has sued, citing an alleged violation of interstate commerce laws.