A stopped train blocking a major thoroughfare in one city, and side roads in another was expected to be back on the move Monday after it stopped there Friday night.

In Birmingham, the Norfolk Southern train is stopped on 40th Street S.W. and 50th Street S.W. In Midfield, it is blocking BY Williams Sr. Drive, near the Birmingham city limits.

Police are stationed at the blocked intersection and rerouting traffic. "It's been stuck on the tracks for the past few days,'' said Midfield police Sgt. Jesse Bell. "That's maybe our second-most traveled road besides Bessemer Super Highway."

BY Williams Sr. Road connects the city to many area businesses. Police are detouring traffic to Industrial Drive.

Fortunately, Bell said, the stopped train hasn't caused any accidents. "It's more of an inconvenience than anything,'' he said. "Most people know how to get around it. We're hoping it will be cleared up today."

Norfolk Southern officials offered this explanation to AL.com: "The ripple effect of the historic 10-plus inch snowfall in Georgia and 4 to 6 inches in the Birmingham area caused trains to move slowly over Norfolk Southern's southern network,'' said Susan Terpay, director of public relations for Norfolk Southern Corp. "Our railroad operates across 22 states in the East so all train traffic is interconnected - similar to how an airport operates."

"Across Georgia and in Alabama, tracks and rail yards had to be cleared of snow and inspected before trains resumed operating and employees who operate, fuel and sand and inspect trains needed to get to work,'' Terpay said. "This caused a back-up moving trains into and out of our rail yard in Birmingham, one of the busiest rail yards on Norfolk Sothern's network. Some trains, such as the one that blocked this crossing, were waiting to enter the yard."

Additionally, for safety reasons, train crews are only permitted to work a set number of hours and then must rest, so there were fewer crews available to operate the trains, she said.

"We sincerely apologize for blocking the crossing,'' Terpay said. "A train crew began moving the train shortly after 1 p.m. today."