People in several Bay Area neighborhoods are raising concerns about homeless moving onto railroad tracks in their communities.
They added the problem is growing and is endangering everyone including railway employees.
One video shows a California Northern train slowing down and stopping as a conductor paused the trip to push homeless tents out of the way so the train can move down the tracks.
The video was shot in Vallejo last month. Some of the debris ended up caught under the train as well.
It's a growing epidemic that was first chronicled by the San Jose Spotlight.
Eric Cortinas lives in San Jose and likes to photograph trains. He took some pictures in the South Bay to show what the train workers have to deal with.
“The government does play a role in this and they need to start stepping in because this isn’t an issue that just impacts the unhoused individuals. This also impacts the Union Pacific and other railroad crews out there,” he said.
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Cortinas and John Leipelt met NBC Bay Area near Monterey Road and Branham Lane in San Jose to show an encampment near the tracks. They are now calling for more homeless abatements to prevent potential collisions.
“It’s getting worse. We see a lot of homeless camps along the railroad tracks. They continue to grow monthly,” Leipelt said.
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Homeless advocates argue there needs to be housing for the people being displaced before railways or cities clear their encampments.
“I wonder when our citizens and our government leaders are going to wake up and realize that it’s not working and we need to do something different. That includes being humane,” said Todd Langton, executive director of Agape Silicon Valley.
Union Pacific owns much of the railway in the region, and said in a statement:
"Homelessness is a challenging issue and a growing social problem that state and local governments across the U.S. are struggling to get their arms around. Despite efforts to keep our tracks clear and safe, illegal dumping and camping is happening on union pacific property, creating public safety risks."
