Regarding docket #34672 Increasing railroad trains on the Union Pacific
I strongly oppose the Union Pacific Railroad increasing the number of trains between Rockview, MO and Dexter, MO. They already cause people to wait and be late for work and other business appointments by stopping on the crossings for longer than a half hour. It is very frustrating to have to wait that long to cross a couple sets of tracks. The other choice would be to go several miles around and all the way back to town to get to your destination. Emergency vehicles have had to contact the railroad to get to cross the tracks to attend to the problem. This could create a deadly situation if there were more trains going through town.
Then there is the noise factor. Train whistles, engines roaring, squealing wheels, and the boxcars clanking together when they stop or start moving all have a higher decibal reading than is tolerable.
Smoke and exhaust from the fuels the engines use, is a very strong pollutant, not to mention if there are other chemicals and vapors escaping the tank cars. It worries me to wonder what other chemicals they carry that I cannot smell as noticeably. I have a young child and I hope this would not harm him as we live a block over from the tracks. If more trains are allowed to go through, then there is more pollution and noise.
Please keep this in mind when you evaluate the situation. Do not allow an already out-of- control problem to get much worse. Kristina Nation
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