Railroad workers stop Ballard trains to sweep, clean homeless encampments

Ballard freight trains were brought to a halt Monday morning as crews launched an effort to clean up and sweep homeless encampments along the rail line.

King 5 reports that the train lines stopped on their way through Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood Monday as crews cleaned up debris left from homeless encampments along the tracks. A total of six freight trains were affected by the job.

The debris reportedly stood 20-feet high underneath the NW 57th Street bridge after the garbage collected for more than two years. Garbage included umbrellas, golf carts, mattresses, hypodermic needles and tarps. Dogs were used to sniff for hazardous material and bio-technicians were on-hand for dangerous objects.

The cleanup effort came with a $15,000 price tag, paid for by BNSF Railway Company, which sent the crews out for the job. The freight company has reportedly spent a quarter of a million dollars over the past three years on removing homeless encampments from along the rail lines between Everett and Kent. A BNSF spokesperson said they send their own police to sweep the encampments along the train tracks. The company also donates to homeless causes but says the camps along the lines are not safe.

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