Joint Statement from Mayor Angelyne Butler, MPA, and the Forest Park City Council Regarding the Stalled Norfolk Southern Railway Trains

Over the past several months, the City of Forest Park has been dealing with several stalled trains owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway. According to officials from the rail company, the stalled trains are a result of numerous ongoing supply chain issues, which have been exacerbated tremendously due to the pandemic. Additional reasons for the stalled trains expressed by the company include crew shortages, weather and even other logistical problems at neighboring rail yards in cities like East Point, Morrow and Atlanta – all of which unfortunately impacts us here locally.  

When the main rail lines are backed up, Forest Park serves as a secondary line here in the metro Atlanta area. During our discussions, we were also informed by Norfolk Southern that our city’s line and the rail yard at the end of the line have been used more frequently because of increased shipments of vehicles by automakers, which has resulted in larger, longer automotive transport trains. Nevertheless, the blockages have caused intersections from Forest Parkway to Main Street to become impassable, as both drivers and pedestrians are forced to detour their routes while the trains continue to sit on the track for hours at a time.

While we understand that the stalled trains are more than an inconvenience to many of our residents and local businesses, we want to assure the community that we are doing everything possible in order to help minimize and address this recurring issue. The city has been in direct contact with Mr. Conner Poe, Norfolk Southern Railway’s regional vice president of government relations, and we have strongly expressed our desire to come up with an immediate solution that prioritizes both public safety and the nation’s economy. We have also communicated our concerns to our legislative officials, including Congresswoman Nikema Williams, about the importance of having this issue resolved expeditiously. 

In closing, we would like to thank our wonderful citizens, business owners, city staff and others for their patience and understanding. Those individuals who would like to submit an official complaint or report a blocked railroad crossing to the Federal Railroad Administration can do so by visiting www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings.

Once again, it is our sincere hope that all parties involved will be able to work together quickly in order to rectify this unfortunate situation.

###