Published: July 05, 2008 08:27 pm      

Railroad officials: More ATV riders traveling on dangerous ground

WELCH — All-terrain vehicle enthusiasts in southern West Virginia are increasingly targeting a new and illegal frontier — railroad right-of-way.

“A railroad right-of-way is an inappropriate place for riding ATVS because you never know when a train is coming, and particularly in a mountainous area,” Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said. “We have lots of curves. You can’t see very far ahead. And you can’t hear the train coming around the mountainous curves.”

The biggest concern for Norfolk Southern is safety on the tracks, Brian Kahle, a special agent with the Norfolk Southern Police Department, said.

“It’s been a problem for a while, but it seems to be growing steadily,” Kahle said. “A locomotive weighs about 400,000 pounds. The entire train weighs about 6,000 tons. That is hard to stop.”

Kahle said ATVs also are tearing up the material that holds the actual track in place in several southern West Virginia communities. Two problem areas with ATVS trespassing on railroad property are McDowell and Wyoming counties. A specific problem area is the Beartown community in Wyoming County, which is located near the borders of Mercer and McDowell counties.

“All railroad property is private property,” Kahle said. “And trespassing is forbidden on it. They can be cited by either Norfolk Southern police or local and state police.”

Kahle said railroad tracks are apparently a tempting target for ATV enthusiasts. Several ATV accidents involving trains have been reported in the region recently, including one crash in Mercer County.

“We had one in Raleigh County that I know of last year, and Mercer County last year over in the Matoaka area,” Kahle said. “I think it (a railroad track) is an easy trail for them to ride on, and sometimes they will take shortcuts. Sometimes it is a thrill ride for them. It is not only dangerous to the ATV riders, but to our train crews as well. Wyoming County is probably our biggest problem area in West Virginia. McDowell County is a problem area, but it’s not as bad as it is in the Beartown area. There seems to be a bigger concentration of ATV riders in that area.”

Kahle said NS is launching an educational and enforcement campaign aimed at cracking down on ATV riders who trespass on the NS right-of-way.

“What we are going to have is a trespasser abatement program where we are going to have extra agents to come in from other areas as well as increased state and local enforcement,” Kahle said. “We are always on the lookout for ATV riders and trespassers in general along the right-of-way. Another problem is people walking up and down the tracks. They are subject to the same summons or arrest as the ATV rider. There is a jail time associated with riding on the railroad tracks, which an ATV falls under. You can get up to 25 days (in jail) and up to a $500 fine.”

Kahle said NS is one of the safest railroad carriers in the United States. Kahle said the educational campaign, which will be held from July 10 through 12 in the Beartown section of Wyoming County, aims to reinforce the railroad’s safety record.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com