About NHTracks
Built in a railroad community.
Built to solve a real-world problem.
NHTracks is a real-time railroad crossing information system designed around the crossings, traffic patterns, and people of New Haven, Indiana — and built to be adapted for communities anywhere in the United States.
The Beginning
It Started With a Conversation
During a meeting of Historic Broadway, Inc., local business owners were discussing one of the most common frustrations heard from customers, visitors, and residents: extended train blockages in New Haven, Indiana.
"We are a railroad community,
and we're proud of that."
The railroad has played an important role in New Haven's history and continues to be an important part of our local economy. Those who live and work here understand that trains are part of life.
The frustration isn't with trains moving through town.
The challenge comes when trains stop for extended periods — sometimes blocking crossings for 30 minutes, an hour, or longer. Traffic backs up, appointments are missed, businesses can lose customers, emergency vehicles may need alternate routes, and visitors find themselves sitting at a crossing without knowing another way around.
How It Grew
A Simple Idea Became Something Bigger
A Conversation
Historic Broadway, Inc. meeting
A Brochure Idea
Maps & alternate routes for motorists
A Better Question
"But what if that idea could do more?"
NHTracks™
Real-time community information system
Real-Time Information
Live status · Automated detection · Notifications
"But what if that idea could do more?"
That question eventually became NHTracks™.
What Makes It Different
Built in New Haven for a Real-World Problem
NHTracks wasn't created as a theoretical solution to a problem somewhere else.
It was built in a railroad community, around real railroad crossings, to help solve a problem we experience every day.
NHTracks combines community participation with automated detection and intelligent status updates to provide a clear, current picture of what's happening at railroad crossings. The system continues to evolve with every blockage, every report, and every real-world situation.
What NHTracks Can Do
A Railroad Crossing Information Platform Built to Grow
Live Crossing Status
Know what's happening now.
Automated Detection
Technology helps keep information current.
Community Reporting
Local participation adds real-world insight.
Alternate Routes
Help motorists find another way around.
Push Notifications
Keep residents informed in real time.
Data & Analytics
Understand crossing events over time.
Location Aware
Designed around your specific crossings.
Public Information
Share information beyond the website.
At Its Core
NHTracks Is About People
NHTracks isn't about stopping trains or interfering with railroad operations.
"It's about helping people."
- →A parent getting to an appointment.
- →An employee getting to work.
- →A visitor finding another way around.
- →Local businesses staying accessible.
- →Emergency responders knowing what's happening.
- →Community leaders understanding mobility.
"We may not control when a train stops. But we can give people better information about what to do when it does."
Expanding the Vision
From New Haven to AnyTown, USA
New Haven is where NHTracks began. It doesn't have to be where the idea ends. Communities across the United States face similar challenges caused by frequently blocked or extended-duration railroad crossings — delayed emergency response, lost business, missed appointments, and frustrated residents.
Cities, counties, municipalities, chambers of commerce, downtown organizations, public works departments, and transportation agencies have discovered that railroad crossing blockages are a community-wide problem. NHTracks represents one approach to giving communities better information — and better options — when a train stops.
NHTracks™
New Haven, Indiana
Created by Pape
AnyTown Tracks
AnyTown, USA
Created by Pape
YOUR COMMUNITY.
YOUR BRAND.
YOUR CROSSINGS.
Technology developed through the real-world experience of NHTracks.
A privately branded community system can have its own name, domain, colors, crossing network, maps, alternate routes, and local information — while utilizing the technology and experience built through NHTracks. Every community is different. Railroad layouts are different. That's why the system is designed around the community, rather than asking the community to fit a one-size-fits-all product.
The Company Behind NHTracks
Created by Pape
pronounced "Poppy," like the flower
NHTracks and the technology behind it were developed by Pape Enterprises, Inc., based in New Haven, Indiana. Pape Enterprises continues to develop and expand the NHTracks platform while exploring opportunities to bring similar privately branded railroad crossing information systems to other communities.
Our goal is straightforward:
"Take what we've learned by building NHTracks in a real railroad community and use that experience to help other communities facing the same challenge."
Get In Touch
Interested in Bringing a System Like NHTracks to Your Community?
Let's talk.
If your community experiences frequent or extended railroad-crossing blockages, we'd like to hear from you. We welcome conversations with municipalities, counties, public safety agencies, chambers of commerce, downtown organizations, and economic development professionals.
Bring a System Like NHTracks to My CommunityPrivately branded. Built around your crossings, your community, and your identity.