Rail gates fail in Plainfield, Ill. on Christmas Day

A broken wire and weather conditions led to Christmas Day railroad crossing blockages in Plainfield, Ill., a Canadian National Railway spokesman said, the Herald News reports. The gates were stuck down at four CN crossings on public roads Saturday afternoon. CN spokesman Patrick Waldron said he did not have times for how long the crossings were out of service. But a Plainfield police official said the problem lasted about four hours. Waldron said CN personnel were at the crossings within 40 minutes of the malfunctions to begin routing traffic around the gates. Traffic still was backed up for a long distance on Lockport Street as Christmas Day travelers waited to get across the tracks. The gates also stopped operating at crossings at 143rd Street, Naperville Road and Main Street. One private road crossing also malfunctioned, but that did not affect the public, Waldron said. "We think it was caused by ice, snow and salt build-up at the grade crossings," Waldron said. "Also, there was a broken wire." Waldron said the breakdown times varied at each crossing. Plainfield police Cmdr. John Konopek, also director of the village's Emergency Management Agency, said the crossings "were out of service for about four hours." Konopek said emergency management personnel were brought out to the crossings to manage traffic.