Train crossing mishap causes traffic delays during heavy snowfall

Police say malfunctioning gates at intersection of St. Francis Drive, Cerrillos Road cleared by 5 p.m.

The safety arms for a Rail Runner Express commuter train crossing at one of Santa Fe’s busiest intersections malfunctioned late Monday afternoon due to heavy snowfall throughout the city, backing up traffic at St. Francis Drive and Cerrillos Road for up to an hour.

Santa Fe police Lt. Jose Gonzales said law enforcement received reports of the malfunctioning crossing arms around 4 p.m. Officers arrived at the intersection a few minutes later, he added, and the traffic jam was cleared up by around 5 p.m.

Gonzales said someone who might have been a technician with the Rail Runner got to the intersection “fairly quickly” and was able to get the arms’ circuit back in working order. The lieutenant said he spoke with Rail Runner officials and was told the malfunction stems from a “reoccurring issue with the inclement weather . ... The circuits get saturated at the crossings.”

“From the information we got from some of the officers that were on scene is that, basically, traffic in all four directions at that intersection — they were backed up significantly, you know, probably several blocks back,” Gonzales said.

The police department has no oversight of the crossings, he added.

“Those belong to the Rail Runner itself, so they have complete oversight to the operation of those crossings,” Gonzales said. “We can only be reactive to when those crossings malfunction.”

Augusta Meyers, a spokeswoman for the Rio Metro Regional Transit District, which operates the train and related equipment, could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

Jocelyn Wu, 32, of Española said she became enmeshed in the traffic jam.

She saw the train pass by, but she said, the crossing arms failed to lift. She called the the 911 dispatch center to report the problem and was told the city

does not have any control over the train equipment. She then called the Rail Runner managers and was given assurances someone was on their way to complete repairs, she said.

About 30 minutes into the ordeal, Wu said, a man whose vehicle also was stuck in the line of traffic got out — despite the inclement weather — and lifted the crossing arms so drivers could move through the intersection.

Eventually, another man began helping so the first good Samaritan could drive through, too, she said.

“Those two people were very, like, ordinary citizens just like helping people,” Wu said. “They responded faster, obviously, than whoever is supposed to be helping out folks when things don’t work.”

Gonzales said no other Rail Runner crossing gates had malfunctioned by about 5 p.m. Monday, and he believes the department’s quick response helped “minimize the safety issue” during the storm.

“There [were] no reported crashes in that area, thankfully,” he said.