After a deadly crash in Pass Christian, will Amtrak’s return to the coast lead to more fatal accidents?

HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WXXV) – Drivers in South Mississippi haven’t had to regularly share crossings with passenger trains for quite some time. Now that Amtrak trains are back, drivers may need to adapt to exercising caution around rail crossings. Just 5 weeks after Amtrak’s return to the coast, a personal vehicle collided with an Amtrak train, killing two people in the car. 

Some Coast residents have taken to social media, saying more crossing arms are needed at railroad crossings to help prevent another tragic accident. While this could reduce the risk, cross arms are not infallible.

WXXV News 25’s Jordyn Lassiter asked whether officials have seen an increase in emergency calls since Amtrak trains returned. Biloxi Police PIO Candace Young says, “We really haven’t seen anything outside of our normal. We haven’t seen a huge uptick [or] much of a difference.”