CSX freight trains will be moving faster through Suffolk and Franklin, starting Sunday.

The Florida-based company says trains will gradually increase speed to 40 MPH instead of the current 25 MPH.

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Four cars from this CSX train derailed.

Suffolk has five crossings, all in the downtown area.

City Communications Director Dennis Craff told WVEC.com that CSX has already run tests on the signals at the crossings involved.

"CSX plans to address any safety issues through a series of public forums and presentations," Craff added.

Officials will meet with the city next week to schedule them.

The company says the increase will reduce wait times for drivers who get stopped at crossings and improve efficiency.

"It is a recognition that as the port increases its volume, there will be more goods and more trains carrying that cargo," Craff noted.

Back in October 2006, a CSX train pulling 67 empty cars derailed on the Birdsong Bridge over the Blackwater River in Franklin during Hurricane Floyd.

On September 3, eight cars of a CSX train derailed in Emporia, spilling coal on the tracks.  Freight and passenger rail service along the route was delayed by the incident.