Unmanned, noisy and smelly CSX freight train idles for hours

All. Night. Long. A noisy, smelly CSX freight train that was left idling - unmanned - near the Schuylkill River Trail for 17 hours left some Center City residents upset and complaining Saturday over what they call an ongoing problem.

Joan Rosenfeld, 68, who lives on the 14th floor of the Rivers Edge Condominiums at 2301 Cherry St., was fed up.

In an interview, she said the very long train, which had two engines in front, back-to-back, was sitting on the train tracks by the river trail from 10 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday.

She said she smelled the diesel fuel. She slept on and off during the night.

"If I can smell it up here, imagine the people below," she said.

The train appeared to have been unattended, she said. While it was idling, the noise was "louder than a big 18-wheeler truck driving by. It was loud."

Then, there were times when the engine revved up to roaring, and Rosenfeld thought the train was going to move, but it didn't.

Rosenfeld said she called the CSX emergency line at about 11 a.m. Saturday and was told by a woman that the train had no crew, and CSX was hoping to get another crew to move the train by 7 p.m. Saturday. Rosenfeld called media outlets, including the Inquirer.

Laura Phelps, a CSX spokeswoman, told the Inquirer in an email sent at 2:40 p.m. Saturday: "A CSX train carrying mixed freight is awaiting a new crew in the area of Race Street, and because of low availability of local crews, it may take until this evening to move the train.

"At CSX, safety is our highest priority, and all trains are handled in accordance with federal regulations. We appreciate the community's patience as we work to move the train as soon as possible."

Phelps gave no other comments about what "mixed freight" was on the train and other inquiries.

Resident Rosenfeld said the train left at 3 p.m., heading toward the Art Museum, and its many cars took a half-hour to leave her sight.

She and her husband have lived in the high-rise condo building for just a few months, after moving to the city from the suburbs. Freight trains idling on the tracks outside her building have been "routine," she said, calling Saturday's the worst in terms of testing her patience and ability to stomach the fumes because it sat the longest.

Rosenfeld said there was an Oct. 26 community meeting to address the issue of idling freight trains. She was not able to attend.

City Councilman-at-Large Allan Domb, who also is a developer and real estate broker, confirmed Rosenfeld's claim about unattended freight trains making life miserable for city residents. "I did reach out to my staff to see what we could do to offer assistance," he said. "I have no concrete answers yet. Throughout the city, there are issues with train operators that we need to get under control, and the worst one - where most of the issues center around - is at Third and Indiana Streets in North Philly because it's an open heroin market on Conrail's property and [Conrail] needs to step up to the plate and address this issue."

Domb said freight train operators need to be held to the same standards as other property owners. "Any property owner in the City of Philadelphia that had this going on should not allow it to occur," he said. "CSX, Conrail, and the larger freight operators are not maintaining their properties, and they become eyesores for the city.

"City Councilwoman Maria Sánchez, whose district includes Third and Indiana, has been fighting for years to get this resolved," Domb said. "We need Conrail's participation to get this resolved. They need to address this."