If a train is stopped in Seymour and a person needs medical assistance, they may have to wait for the train to pass.

But soon, they will at least be able to wait with medical personnel.

The conversion of the former Indiana State Police garage into an ambulance station on the east side of the Louisville and Indiana Railroad line in Seymour is underway and currently ahead of schedule, said Dennis Brasher, executive director of Jackson County Emergency Medical Services.

According to a Jackson County EMS study in 2013, 63 percent of the runs made by the emergency service were conducted on the east side of the rail line.

No further studies have been conducted since 2013.

Recently, there has been an increase in train traffic created by the more than $90 million upgrade to the 106.5-mile rail line that passes north and south through Seymour.

This upgrade increases the two or three trains per day to more than 15, all of which are longer and travel faster.

The increase in train traffic has caused some concern for emergency personnel trying to get from the station on the west side of the tracks to emergencies on the east side, prompting the renovation of the former state police post garage into an ambulance station.

The renovation includes an expansion of the garage from its current 3,418 square feet to hold three ambulances and provide staff space to work on them.

One of the bays will be used to house a full-time ambulance crew, while a second will be used by personnel on duty during the daytime Monday through Friday, and the other will serve as a backup bay.

The move of services will still allow for one full-time ambulance, a second daytime ambulance and a paramedic supervisor available on the west side of the railroad line.

“Right now, I think we are a little ahead of schedule,” Brasher said. “It’s possible we could be finished as early as Feb. 21.”

Read the full story in Saturday’s Tribune and online at tribtown.com.