I did not know that under current state law (passed in 1923) a railroad can only be fined $5 a day, up to a $50 maximum for not repairing crossings. That small amount is surprising, considering how expensive those repairs are, and how hard it is to get state or federal money to help for the projects. When I was working in public works, it was very often a years long process, and stars had to align to fix some of these crossings. Saline County Commissioner Jerry Fowler told area legislators that it costs $500 to press charges against the railroad to get the crossing fixed. He’d like legislators to consider raising the fines, to force railroads to fix the troublesome crossings.
Rep. Charlie Roth, R-Salina, said fixing the crossing is a huge expense to railroads, which have a powerful lobby in Topeka.
“They are considered economic development,” Roth said after the meeting. “Getting something established at the state level with the railroad is a lot of trouble.”
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