Langhorne Manor Borough recently received an update from Middletown Township Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla that he no longer has the opportunity to cite CSX for blockages of the railroad crossings. His note follows:
“Unfortunately, after fighting the fight for 9 + years, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Robert Mellon ordered that the state motor vehicle code governing blockage of rail crossings was preempted by federal laws regulating the railroads. Therefore, moving forward, I can no longer issue CSX any state motor vehicle code citations for blocking a crossing. There is a federal agency, the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) that has an online complaint form that any member of the public can access The link is available by clicking here.”
Chief Bartorilla will still be documenting blocked crossings as he receives reports of them, but as a police department, he can no longer take any enforcement actions against CSX for blocked crossings.