Minneapolis public school students had a frightening experience late last month when their bus stalled on light-rail tracks near the University of Minnesota football stadium and a train was coming.
It was just before noon on Feb. 29 when the bus carrying sixth-graders from Justice Page Middle School halted as it crossed the tracks at University Avenue and Huron Boulevard. The rear of the bus blocked the eastbound tracks as a westbound train approached. The train operator was able to stop without hitting the bus, said Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr.
It was a close call, but aside from frayed nerves and anxious moments, no one was physically injured, representatives from the school district and Metro Transit said.
In the past decade, 39 stalled vehicles have been hit by trains in Minnesota, according to online data from the Federal Railroad Administration. Another 68 motorists who stopped on railroad crossings were hit, as were five more who were trapped on a crossing by traffic, the data said.
The collisions led to 46 deaths and 106 injuries, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Highway-Rail Crash Reporting Dashboard. The counts from both agencies include only incidents that occurred on freight rail tracks from 2013 through 2022.
Last year, 29 vehicles got stuck on light-rail tracks, according to Metro Transit. The numbers show crossing tracks can be dangerous.
“It’s very true,” said Sheryl Cummings with Minnesota Operation Lifesaver, a railroad safety organization. “We get complacent and think there is never a train here. ... We look but are not really seeing.”
Drivers should proceed through a railroad crossing only when they can completely clear the crossing without stopping. “Don’t get trapped on the tracks,” Lifesaver train safety materials say. But should the unfortunate happen, here is what to do.
