On a typical morning, a long CSX freight train blocks several Wildwood intersections west of U.S. 301 for up to an hour or more while the train crew enjoys either a coffee or breakfast break.
Wildwood officials have tried repeatedly to complain to CSX about it, but so far they say the railroad has been unresponsive.
Now, City Manager Jason McHugh said he has enlisted the help of city Commissioner Joe Elliott to try again to resolve the issue with the railroad. Elliott, resident of The Villages, is active in Republican Party politics and is a former Community Development District 8 supervisor.
McHugh said he hopes adding an elected official to the cause will bolster the city’s case.
“It’s getting worse,” McHugh told the city commission Monday night. “We’re trying to find out who at CSX to talk to.”
Blocking the streets is a public safety issue, he said, because ambulances and other emergency vehicles must take wide detours to respond to the area.
“It’s such a terrible inconvenience to the west side,” said Mayor Ed Wolf. “They don’t seem to answer to municipalities, the state or anybody.”
Based in Jacksonville, CSX Corporation operates 21,000 miles of track in 23 states as well as two Canadian provinces. It operates an average of 1,300 trains daily and has a fleet of more than 4,000 locomotives and about 70,000 freight cars. Its Wildwood office is at 601 N. Main St
In a 2017 letter to customers, Hunter Harrison, chief executive officer of CSX, blamed a rising number of complaints about the railroad on employees who were resistant to changes he wanted to make.
