MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — Trains blocking roads in Monroe County have been a problem for years. Some people have it worse since they have to worry about two tracks blocking their homes.
Deanna Jones has lived in her house for six years and only had trouble with parked trains once or twice a year. Recently, it’s been worse.
"In the past year, it’s twice a month that the coal train completely stops and blocks our entrance in and out of our home," she said.
Jones has had to leave her car on the side of the road and walk home because the train won’t move. She said the longest she’s had to wait for a train to move was 14 hours. Sometimes she has to call into her job saying she can’t come in.
"When we have our grandchildren visiting, our children visiting, guests, and friends and family. What if something happens to one of them and we cannot get a responder inside to our home to pick them up nor can we get out to take them to a hospital? It’s a stressful situation," Jones said.
The Jones family lives right behind the Norfolk Southern track. After crossing, they have to hope a train isn’t sitting on the Georgia Power Plant Scherer track or they’ll be trapped.
Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman said there’s an emergency plan in place with Jones County.
"Basically whatever we ask for, our 911 center would call the Jones County Sheriff's Office or fire department and basically tell them the emergency and the assist we're requesting and they would dispatch accordingly," he said.
Despite all the problems, Jones does not want to leave her home.
"We love it here. We love Juliette. We love the Ocmulgee River. It’s a great little town and it’s our home. It’s the place the we want to retire and we don’t want to move," she said.
We reached out to Georgia Power and received this statement:
“While Georgia Power does not have control over the scheduling or regular operation of trains, we appreciate residents’ concerns when trains block public roadways before reaching our facilities. In recent weeks, we have reached out to our rail-transportation partners on behalf of our neighboring communities to share our concerns about the challenges stopped trains can cause.”