POCOPSON: The train and the bridge

I've written before about the Lenape Bridge closure and the unpredictable train-car shuffling that snarls traffic at the Pocopson railroad crossing. Two readers wrote to me about how those two problems have become greater than the sum of their parts:

"We have always enjoyed the sound of the train whistle from our house, and have on occasion been delayed as it 'backs and forths' a couple of times, I suspect to change cars. It has been as much as 8 to 10 minutes, but we always understand it as it does not impact too much time or our life.

"BUT, with all the extra traffic and due to traffic pattern changes it has become a big deal. And it seems as if there are more -- many more -- times the train comes through and makes its car changes.

"Today we heard it at 8 and 9 a.m. Yesterday my wife was caught for 15 minutes at 10:30. Monday it was 15 minutes at 3 p.m. Some of this was back up, some the fast light at Pocopson letting 926 cars through for extended times.

"My one question is, is there a train schedule? And if so, can it be made public knowledge to help people such as us? I believe the tracks are privately owned, but probably the trains are regulated (i.e., publicly controlled ) so there should be some sort of schedule."

Those are excellent questions, and residents and commuters alike would greatly appreciate some answers from local government.