PROJECT TO REMOVE STALLED TRAINS FROM PALM BLVD.

By Juan Montoya
On October 4, 2013, a Brownsville Independent School District school bus caught fire.
The emergency dispatcher at 911 directed the fire company at the Central Fire Station on Adams Street to response since it was the closest one to the frontage road and 14th Street.
Sources at the time said that it wasn't until some 15 to 19 minutes later that the dispatchers realized the enormity of the emergency and alerted all the the fire stations.

The closest fire station was the main station downtown on Adams, but it just so happened that the engine and firefighters from the station were receiving training at the old Amigoland Mall. To make matters worse, as the fire engine arrived at the tracks on Palm Boulevard, they were caught up in traffic because a freight train was blocking the way.

Unable to arrive quickly, the instructed the dispatchers to call the stations at Old Alice and Southmost. The Southmost unit arrived at the scene in about 3 and a half minutes.

Now the opening of the west rail project by Cameron County may put an end to similar situations. But just as they have been told for the last 15 years, they may have to wait a little longer while the Mexican government puts the finishing touches on their side of the river.

At times, the trains can linger on the tracks blocking the road for more than an hour. Recently, a television crew documented that the train had been stopped on the tracks blocking the road for more than 90 minutes.
Given the fact that Texas Southmost's ITEC building houses classrooms which might be in need of emergency services such as police, fire or ambulance, the delays caused by a freight train that would require them to circle all the way around to Mexico Drive by the Old Bridge, it has bee a situation that had exposed Union Pacific, the city and the emergency providers to huge legal liability.
Local residents say the  stopped trains are dangerous and say it happens every day.
“If we have an emergency, what are we going to do?" asked one.
Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda said, “It's a problem that has been there for many, many years. It's one of the reasons why this project evolved and why we undertook the project."
He said the 15-year project is nearing completion. Once completed and open, the tracks at the Palm Boulevard crossing will be closed. The west rail project is slated to be finished by April and open in May.
A local broadcaster says that the City of Brownsville has not issued tickets to the railroad for the last four years.