LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County ranks second in the state when it comes to the number of deaths along railroads.
Now, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced it is upping patrols to save lives.
For Dr. John Lynch the train horns is a sound he hears every day. His veterinary clinics sits along the Tri-Rail station.
“It slows down by time it comes behind my building,” he said.
In his 25 years in business he’s seen a lot.
“On 6th ave, yes there’s been incidents there,” Dr. Lynch recalled.
Soon there will be extra patrols in the city to address railway trespassing and reduce the number of people hit or hurt along the tracks.
It's made possible by a grant awarded to the Palm Beach County Sherrif’s Office by U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration.
“We were thrilled as an organization,” Bonnie Arnold, Tri-Rail said.
Arnold says the Lake Worth corridor is one of their busiest. She says keeping people off that tracks is a collective effort.
“This is a partnership we’ve launched with Amtrak, Brighline, CSX FEC AND of course PBSO. All the carriers on these corridors have come together to fight this massive problem we have which is called trespassing,” she said.
As for Dr. Lynch he’s hoping this will help discourage people from trying to ‘beat the train.’
“There’s all sorts of bells and whistles of if you want to call it that on the tracks. So just pay attention,” he said.
