By Patrick Mahanes ‘23

I live east of the train tracks that run parallel with Rockwell Ave. To get to Brother Rice, I have to cross the train tracks every day. I typically leave 10 to 20 minutes before my first class in the morning. It is around an eight to ten minute ride unless a train decides to ruin my morning.

The time of the train and the traffic that follows guarantee a late slip for me. Since this caught my attention and annoyed me, I decided to talk to four of my friends that live east of the tracks as well.

Everyone said that they have been late to school and events due to longer trains. All of them were frustrated, but three of them agreed that longer trains were necessary.

Brendan Malloy said, “Even though a mile-long train is frustrating, I understand why it is so long because there is a lot of product to be moved.”

Ben McMurray agreed and said, “They are always annoying, but I feel like they’re still necessary for moving important resources around the U.S.”

Long trains are annoying, but their efficiency keeps costs down.

John Fitzpatrick said, “People often fail to realize that longer trains actually lower the prices of food and other goods for us, so they make a big positive impact.”

On the contrary, some believe that longer trains are just a scheme to save money by the railroad owners. Brendan Tait said, “I do not think longer freight trains are necessary to move product, and I think it is just a way to shorten costs.”

I believe that longer trains are necessary due to the current economic status of America, but I do not want to get up 10 minutes earlier just in case there might be a train. Not only do the trains prevent you from crossing, but also they create a ton of congestion that messes up traffic long after the train is gone.