Train Watch
Phone notifications
The default. Alerts pop up on your lock screen like a text, on iPhone and Android. See how to set them up.
Madison, Alabama
Know when a train is blocking Sullivan, Shelton, or Slaughter.
Get a notification on your phone when a freight train is likely blocking one of these three Madison crossings, and another when it has cleared. Email alerts come with the $1.99/month plan.
$1.99/month
Subscribe
On your phone
Example
Train Watch
Blocked
Train likely at Shelton Rd. Slaughter Rd is likely blocked too.
Train Watch
Clear
Shelton Rd is clear. It was blocked about 14 minutes.
Check your details
- Name
- Phone
- Alerts
- Plan
- Train Watch, $1.99/month
No payment will be taken and you won't be asked for card details. We're gauging interest before launch.
How it works
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Local signals point to a train
Traffic suddenly stopping on both sides of the tracks, railroad radio, and City of Madison train notices suggest a crossing is likely blocked.
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An alert reaches your phone or inbox
A notification or email names the crossing and the time, so you can choose another route before you reach the tracks.
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A follow-up says it's clear
When traffic moves again, a second alert says the crossing is clear and roughly how long it was blocked.
Alerts are estimates.
No public real-time train feed exists for these crossings, so a train's presence is inferred from local signals. An alert can occasionally be wrong or arrive late, and a short train can pass between checks without an alert.
Your alerts, your way
Sign in to your account with just your email, no password to remember, and choose how and when you hear about trains.
Email alerts, if you want them
Included with the $1.99/month plan. Get the same blocked and clear alerts by email as well, or instead if you prefer.
Pick your crossings
Only hear about the crossings on your route: Sullivan, Shelton, Slaughter, or any mix.
Quiet hours
Set times when you don't want alerts, like overnight, and pause alerts whenever you like.
Setting up phone notifications
It takes about a minute, with no app store. Once your account is ready, follow the steps for your phone.
Your phone
iPhone
- Open the sign-in link from your email in Safari.
- Tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen, then Add.
- Open Train Watch from your Home Screen, not from Safari.
- Tap Turn on notifications, then Allow.
Needs iOS 16.4 or later. Apple only allows website notifications from sites added to the Home Screen. If alerts don't appear, check Settings > Notifications > Train Watch and any Focus mode that might silence them.
Your phone
Android
- Open the sign-in link from your email in Chrome.
- Tap Turn on notifications, then Allow.
- Optional: tap Chrome's ⋮ menu, then Add to Home screen for one-tap access.
If alerts don't appear, check Settings > Apps > Chrome > Notifications, and make sure battery saver isn't restricting Chrome.
The three crossings
All three cross the Norfolk Southern mainline through Madison, from west to east:
- Sullivan St at the downtown end of the Wall Triana Hwy / Sullivan St corridor.
- Shelton Rd, east of Hughes Rd.
- Slaughter Rd, farthest east. A long train stopped at Shelton often reaches it too, so Shelton alerts name both.
Early heads-up, still being tested: trains here usually run west to east, so a train that has just cleared Sullivan may give Shelton drivers extra warning. It has matched a real train, but not enough times yet to count on.