BNSF says Kansas can’t regulate how long trains block traffic; State calls that ‘absurd’

The BNSF Railroad is challenging a Kansas law limiting how long trains can block intersections and a lawyer for the state says if the railroad wins, the answer could be forever.
The case spins off a blockage of two crossings in a rural part of Chase County, but how the court decides it would have ramifications for railroad crossings throughout the state.
A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case Thursday at a special session held at Wichita State University.
The case revolves around lengthy blockage of two railroad crossings near the town of Bazaar in December of 2016.
The Chase County Sheriff’s Department cited BNSF saying it had parked a train on a siding for four hours, blocking the only two crossings that provide access to several farms.

Read more here: Wichita Eagle.