CSX Sues to Strike Ordinance

CSX Transportation Inc. has asked a federal judge to strike down a new Vincennes ordinance regulating train traffic in the southwestern Indiana city.

Constitutional and regulatory issues were "at the base of the argument" in a lawsuit filed by CSX, company spokesman Gary Wollenhaupt said Tuesday.

The Richmond, Va.-based transportation company filed the lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. The suit asks that the city be temporarily barred from ticketing CSX train operators, who have been repeatedly cited for ignoring the ordinance, and that the court rule the law invalid.

The lawsuit claims the ordinance conflicts with federal laws, rules and regulations, including the Federal Railroad Safety Act. By doing so, it places an undue burden on interstate commerce, in

iolation of the Constitution, the company said.

"The Ordinance operates mainly as a revenue source for Vincennes, and does not address a public safety, health or welfare interest sufficient to justify the substantial burden the Ordinance places on interstate commerce," the suit states.

No hearing date for the suit had been scheduled.