According to a Houston Landing investigation, hundreds of times in the last year, stolen trains have blocked tracks close to Houston ISD schools, endangering thousands of students’ commutes and forcing some kids to crawl over halted cars.
Locals frequently complain that Union Pacific trains obstruct roadways near schools during student drop-off and pickup times, according to a Landing study of Federal Railroad Administration records. Following the death of 15-year-old Sergio Rodriguez by a train last week close to HISD’s Milby High School, the data highlights the scope of a persistent problem in Houston, one of the biggest rail hubs in the country.
Political officials from the state and local governments have promised to construct a multimillion-dollar pedestrian bridge close to the scene of Rodriguez’s death; however, the Landing’s investigation reveals that the problem of hazardous train crossings close to schools extends well beyond Milby High. Local government authorities would probably have to invest tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in such measures to ensure safe transport across dozens of often stopped train crossings.
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Since the FRA receives reports of train problems, the hundreds of stoppages close to HISD schools most certainly constitute an undercount. Not all prohibited crossings are notified to this portal, according to an email sent this week by agency official William Wong.
For instance, there was only one instance of a train blocking the tracks close to the intersection where Rodriguez passed away, according to the data. However, in recent days, parents and children informed the Landing that blocked crossings are typical during such hours at the site.
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Henry Benitez, a senior at Milby High, remembered crossing the street twice in spite of a train. He sprinted to cross the tracks before an approaching train in the first case. In the second, when lessons ended, he had to crawl over a ladder between the cars because a stopped train was blocking his way home.
Benitez remarked, “I was hoping the train wouldn’t move, but if it did, I would have probably just jumped off.”
Following an analysis of more over 5,000 instances of trains being halted in Harris County and interviews with Union Pacific representatives, families, and politicians, the Landing has discovered:
- In 2024, people have reported roughly 600 instances of trains blocking intersections within a mile of 71 HISD campuses between 7 to 9 a.m. or 3 to 5 p.m. on days school was in session. Most blockages were from trains sitting still, while about 40 involved moving trains.
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- In about 300 cases, the people contacting the FRA reported that pedestrians climbed on, over or through the trains. Many people specifically noted the impact on school pickup and drop-off, such as users who reported seeing parents climbing the rails to take their children to school and kids climbing through trains, agency records show.
- Union Pacific representatives offered contradictory messages on whether it s feasible for the company to limit train traffic near schools during pickup and drop-off times, a common request from families. Clint Schelbitzki, the company s assistant vice president of public affairs for the Southern Region, said in a Tuesday interview that the sheer volume of rail traffic in Houston means restricting hours of train travel would cause buildup and slowdowns elsewhere in the city, so the best solution is to keep those trains moving to avoid stoppages. Meanwhile, another company spokesperson, Robynn Tysver, released a statement Tuesday saying Union Pacific s president had met with Whitmire and agreed to immediately adjust our operations to avoid running trains near Milby High for one hour each during pickup and drop-off times.
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There is no online tool that allows the public to track train traffic in real-time and plan their commutes, similar to what exists for planes on the website
FlightAware
. Union Pacific is looking into whether it can provide more information to the public about real-time train locations, including potentially incorporating information into apps like Waze or Google Maps, though there is no timetable on when those features might be available, Schelbitzki said.
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles said last week that his administration would work with city, county and state leaders to look into building overpasses or underpasses around tracks near nine schools, including Milby High, where the risk to students is greatest. According to Miles, 118 of HISD’s about 270 schools contain rail lines that would make it more difficult for some children to get to class.
Additionally, Miles expressed his expectation that Union Pacific would support the initiatives. Schelbitzki said the company would participate in the planning processes, but when asked what level of financial contribution Union Pacific might provide, he did not respond directly.
We have communicated with HISD, and we will meet with them to discuss the planning process and determine which projects are suitable for each school. “Schelbitzki said.” In order to determine the proper investment from each of us, we will collaborate with those partners.
A decades-old problem
Train traffic and pedestrian safety have been a longstanding issue in Houston, especially on thecity s east side, largely because of the way Harris County s rail system is designed.
About 100 trains enter and exit the city each day, crossing through more roads and sidewalks than in any other metro area in the Union Pacific network, Schelbitzki said. By comparison, the Chicago area has about 70 percent more bridges and underpasses to route trains away from car and foot traffic, translating to four times fewer direct intersections between tracks and roads, he said.
For some Houstonians, pedestrian injuries on rail lines are a tragic reality due to the hundreds of locations where roads collide with tracks. A man in a wheelchair washit by a train in the Fifth Wardin September, according to eyewitness accounts. In 2005, a Deady Middle School student had hislegs crushed under a trainon the same tracks as the recent collision near Milby High.
Rodriguez, a sophomore football player, may have stumbled and fallen while attempting to cross in front of a moving train just before classes started, according to Houston police detectives.
State Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, who attended Milby High and serves a district spanning much of Houston s east side, said train crossings were an issue when she was a student in the 1980s.
Those of us that lived in Manchester (a neighborhood directly northeast of Milby High), we were surrounded by tracks, so that was a daily thing, Alvarado said. This is nothing new.
Now, when Milby High mother Maya Lopez picks up her ninth grade daughter from school each afternoon, she watches the teen traverse the same tracks that were the site of the recent tragedy. She fears for her daughter s safety and hopes to see prompt solutions.
The district should at least talk to the company so that the train doesn t pass during school hours, because of the danger that it can cause, Lopez said in Spanish on Monday, a day before Union Pacific announced it wouldlimit train routes in the area.
Search for solutions
While Union Pacific, Whitmire and others have trumpeted the train schedule adjustment near Milby High, the majority of lines across Houston continue to operate as normal, meaning students at dozens of other schools remain at risk.
The federal records show some school communities have seen dozens of instances of trains blocking tracks during drop-off or pickup times. For example, people reported that stopped trains impeded an intersection three blocks north of Lantrip Elementary School in the East End about 60 times this year during those hours.
Wider, longer-term safety measures may prove much more difficult to achieve. Whitmire estimated that a Milby High pedestrian bridge would cost $6.5 million at a recent city council meeting, suggesting the total for the nine potential projects identified by HISD officials could be tens of millions of dollars.
Whitmire said Wednesday that he could not yet provide a budget or a timeline for the projects, but they re all under review. The mayor said his team and HISD would drill down on each individual site to understand what new structures might be appropriate.
Houston ISD officials say train issues on tracks near these nine schools pose the greatest danger to children in the district.
- Burnet Elementary School
- Cook Elementary School
- Forest Brook Middle School
- Kashmere High School
- McReynolds Middle School
- Milby High School
- Tijerina Elementary School
- Roosevelt Elementary School
- Waltrip High School
The initial accomplishment is getting an embargo during pedestrian traffic at Milby (High), stop the train, Whitmire said. Then, ultimately, we will have a long-term solution for helping students get to school.
Whether Whitmire and Miles succeed in building out the new infrastructure may depend on whether they can persuade Union Pacific to foot a significant portion of the bill. The company operates lines near seven of the nine campuses identified, Schelbitzki said, and it contributes to projects like the overpasses and underpasses described by Miles on a case by case basis.
But on a broader scale, Union Pacific and other rail companies havefought against local measuresthat force them to pay for stopped trains and lobbied in Washington for less regulation over the industry. Houston-area community members and advocates also have criticized Union Pacific for years after the company used treated wood ties on its tracks thatleeched cancer-causing substancesinto the Greater Fifth Ward community, contributing to a state-designated cancer cluster in the northeast Houston neighborhood.
Kristen South, another Union Pacific spokesperson, argued the company is an essential component of Houston s economy, employing 1,600 people in the region, moving goods across the city and taking trucks off the road. Instead of limiting the hours of operation for trains during school hours, she suggested investments in rail efficiency could reduce blocked crossings.
If we can invest in the yard and get (trains) in faster, it opens up that crossing faster, South said.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, who represents much of Houston s east side and has advocated for greater train regulation, thinks the solution needs to be more comprehensive. Shefiled a 2023 billto prohibit rail carriers from blocking intersections for more than 10 minutes, though the legislation never received a hearing in a congressional subcommittee.
Now, Garcia is working on a bill to limit the speed, length and frequency of trains crossing near campuses that she plans to file in January. The idea is similar to laws limiting car speed in school zones, she said.
We regulate cars for the safety of children, Garcia said. There s no real reason why we can t regulate trains for the safety of children.
Staff writer Hanna Holthaus contributed reporting and staff writer Anna-Catherine Brigida contributed translation for this story.
Asher Lehrer-Small covers Houston ISD for the Landing. Find him@by_ash_lson Instagram and@small_asheron X, or reach him directly [email protected].
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Dangerous crossings: Hundreds of trains block streets near HISD schools, federal data show
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