For some reason I can't use that link, but thanks for sharing it.

FWIW, the ProPublica piece agrees with them re the kids: The bridge, if built, would help vehicles, but would not directly help pedestrians trying to cross a mile or more away (unless, I guess, a school bus was added--but I don't know if that's practical or possible).

Rail companies around the country ... could also build shorter trains that fit into railyards so their tail ends don’t block towns’ crossings. Hammond essentially serves as a parking lot for Norfolk Southern’s trains, creating a problem so pressing that Indiana plans to spend $14 million — about $10 million of which is coming from federal grants — to build an overpass for cars. The bridge won’t help many students, who would need to walk at least a mile out of their way just to reach it. Norfolk Southern, the multibillion-dollar corporation causing the problem, is contributing just $500,000 of the bridge’s cost, despite the city asking for more.
Click for more

https://www.propublica.org/article/trains-crossing-blocked-kids-norfolk-southern

The underlying problem is that there is no penalty for long-term blockages, on a regular basis, lasting hours or even tens of hours, due in part to the trains' lengths, which have grown under PSR.