ELKHART, Ind. -- Elkhart police and railroad agents have been issuing trespassing warnings and arresting people walking along railroad tracks in the northern Indiana city.
Norfolk Southern Railway agents and Elkhart police say they started the crackdown because of the high number of accidents and trespassing incidents in the area.
NSR special agent Steven Kirkman says many people don't know that it's illegal to walk on railroad tracks or in the rights of way on either side of them.
Officials say keeping people off the tracks can prevent deaths and injuries. Seven people in Indiana died last year and 13 others were seriously injured while trespassing on railroad property, according to Federal Railroad Administration statistics.
(The preceding Associated Press report appeared on the Web site of radio station WLKM at www.wlkm.com on September 23, 2009.)
