Officials questioned what solutions are available for a private railroad crossing on a public road in Nesquehoning that was the scene a train-vehicle crash last month.

On Wednesday, Nesquehoning Borough Council, as well as Ron Gasior, vice president of operations for Ametek Westchester Plastics, and Bob Kuzma, facility manager for KME, two businesses that solely utilize Mountain Avenue to access their properties, discussed what could be done at the crossing along Mountain Avenue from Route 54 since previous meetings have not been fruitful.Each of the three entities received an agreement from Reading and Northern Railroad, which operates the line that crosses Mountain Avenue.Borough solicitor Robert Yurchak said that his opinion of the agreement is that it is "extremely one-sided" in favor of the railroad.The agreement allows the railroad to charge fees for many things related to the crossing, a cause of concern for Yurchak, who said what would stop the company from triple-charging the three entities for the same thing since the borough, Ametek and KME were not given the same agreement as the borough.Both Gasior and Kuzma agreed.Council President David Hawk said that if the agreement isn't signed, Reading and Northern stated it has the right to tear out or close the crossing if it sees fit, which is considered a private crossing at this time, without any ramifications.Gasior asked what happens to Ametek, which employs 200; and that KME plant, which employees 188, if the crossing were to be shut down.Gasior also said that the issue is complex in that the line is owned by Carbon County, which leases it to Reading and Northern. There are also questions as to who owns the crossing since it is on a public street but a private crossing; and what can be done to address the employees' concerns about their safety crossing the tracks.He also asked why the crossing is private instead of public.Hawk said that no one has ever petitioned the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission to make it a public crossing, which means that as a private crossing, the PUC states that whatever is done must be done between an agreement between the railroad and the property owner, which is a little confusing since the borough never ordained it a borough street but is listed on the deed as the owner."We need assistance from the county commissioners," Gasior said.Council raised its concerns about an increase in rail traffic once the new trestle bridge is completed in Jim Thorpe that will provide easier access for rail travel, and also the recent increase in track speed.The three parties said that the signs that were put up following the crash in July at the crossing were taken down shortly after by the railroad because there was no agreement in place for that.Kuzma said two stop signs were installed on both Ametek and KME's poles as a result.The board said that it will try to schedule another meeting with the two businesses, the PUC and Federal Railroad Authority, as well as county, state and federal legislators and any other party that needs to be involved to see if solutions that meet everyone's needs can be reached.