U.S. Route 322 Restriction
Though the railway owns the trackage between its two namesake towns, it until 2011 only regularly operated as far north as Indian Echo Caverns. U.S. Route 322, a four-lane limited-access highway, lies between Indian Echo Caverns and Hummelstown proper, where the railway connects with Norfolk Southern's (NS) Harrisburg Line line. PennDOT restricted the M&H to 12 crossings per year. However, the M&H had requested additional crossing allowances and was willing to install additional crossing hardware (gates, additional flashers).
Freight business is minimal on the M&H, partly due to the restricted access to NS on the north end. The railroad has stated that this restriction greatly hampers growing freight potential. PennDOT said it believes more discussion regarding warning devices for the crossing is needed given the volume and type of traffic on Route 322. In addition, the Hummelstown Borough Council has expressed NIMBY concerns with having additional freight trains passing through town.
Read more about this topic: Middletown And Hummelstown Railroad
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