With ten accidents in a decade Charleston’s Meeting Street / Cherry Hill Lane level crossing on the CSX Transportation (CSX) right of way has long been recognised as an accident black spot location. Indeed, since a project to upgrade this level crossing was initiated in 2005, there have been three accidents on this crossing. Now active controls in the form of lights and audible alarms have been installed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation at a cost of some US$0.3m

(May 27th, 2010)

Operation Lifesaver would like you to check out their entries in the People’s Telly Award contest, open now on YouTube. You can add your vote for Operation Lifesaver’s new distracted driving videos.

• Male buddies (humorous):
  http://www.youtube.com/tellyawards?x=k3xXENd1GS0
• Female (serious):
  http://www.youtube.com/tellyawards?x=wuETqpQoiLo

(May 27th, 2010)

 

Sorocaba, Brasil: Loaded bus straddling railway hit by train

A train collided with a bus on an open level crossing in the centre of Sorocaba. Surprisingly only two of the bus passengers were injured, not seriously in the collision on the Rua 15 de Novembre level crossing which occurred when the bus was standing on the level crossing, unable to exit because road traffic was backed up to the level crossing. Despite seeing the obstruction ahead and reacting accordingly, the train driver was unable to stop his train short of the bus.

(May 27th, 2010)

Norfolk, Virginia: Flooding requires crossing to be rebuilt

As a result of flooding which caused newly laid rail tracks to settle unacceptably, a level crossing has to be rebuilt. The flooding undermined the foundations of the intersection between Brambleton Avenue along which the Hampton Roads Transit will operate and 2nd Street in the Fort Norfolk area of the city.

(May 26th, 2010)

Ciudad Evita, Argentina: Upgrade to automatic half-barrier crossing configuration

The level crossing at the intersection of Provincial Highway 21 and the Ferrocarril Belgrano Sur right of way in Ciudad Evita, Buenos Aires, is being upgraded to an automatic half-barrier configuration. The project also includes highway widening to eliminate the narrowing of the road and reduce traffic congestion.

(May 26th, 2010)

Officers drawn from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa State Highway Patrol and Mason City police forces along with officials from the state’s Department of Transportation and CP joined forces for an Operation Lifesaver enforcement blitz. The approach adopted was to use a special train to increase the frequency of trains through Mason City and Clear Lake and thus the opportunity to increase the number of motorists interfacing with the level crossing closure sequence.

The approach was, if the number of tickets issued is anything to go by, successful with 28 motorists receiving citations and a further eight warnings. However, this only serves to show the underlying level of abuse observed by officers on the special train and the effectiveness of their colleagues tracking the train in apprehending offenders over a three-hour period on May 24th, 2010.

(May 26th, 2010)

Abilene, Texas: UP and Abilene police out in force

Union Pacific (UP) staff and Abilene police officers were out in force during the morning of May 25th, 2010, looking out for motorists not using level crossings safely. To improve the efficiency of the exercise, UP ran a light locomotive over the crossings being observed; thus, increasing the number of motorists needing to stop for a train. With officers deployed to cover crossings, six motorists received citations for level crossing related offences. This is the third year that UP and Abilene police have run this type of exercise.

(May 25th, 2010)

Los Angeles, California: Expo’s saga of the Farmdale intersection close to a conclusion?

How to manage the intersection of Farmdale Avenue and the Expo Line in South Los Angeles has excited many over recent months (LXinfo April 2010). Now, it looks as if a conclusion to the debate is near. At issue has been whether or not the intersection, which is near Dorsey High School, should be grade separated or not.

The regulatory position emerged as there could be an at grade intersection if a station was built adjacent to the intersection so that the speed of train was restricted by virtue of them stopping or starting from the station. Now, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is holding a hearing on June 1st, 2010.

The station adjacent to the at grade Farmdale intersection is in essence a compromise between the Expo Line promoters original wish for a level crossing over which they could operate at line-speed and the activist view that an underpass was essential.

However, what is presented aa a pragmatic and cost effective compromise which will allow phase one of the Expo Line to be delivered is subject to challenge by Citizen's Campaign to Fix the Expo Line which continues to argue that a station and a level crossing with a pedestrian holding pen is potentially more dangerous than a “plain vanilla” level crossing. The group argues that the latest plans make an already insanely complicated intersection worse. Activists ask why pupils at Dorsey High School are to be more at risk than those in nearby Culver City.

So, the $64k question is, will the CPUC decision be challenged through the courts or will phase one of the Expo Line be completed without further delay.

(May 25th, 2010)

Mattawan, Michigan: Less sense than money can buy

Civic leaders in the village of Mattawan, Van Buren County, have turned down a US$0.15m offer from Michigan Department of Transportation to eliminate the levl crossing on Webster Street. The closure proposal should be seen as a precursor to line-speed improvements on the Amtrak owned rail corridor through Matawan.

The reasons for rejecting the closure of the Webster Street level crossing were that it is used by buses and emergency service vehicles and also heavy trucks. However, it is hard to see how this stacks up as there is another crossing on Main Street which is nearby and, in practice, unlikely to inconvenience anyone.

(May 20th, 2010)

Sacramento, California: Project back on track again

The railway sector’s concerned that the plans to grade separate the Colton rail-to-rail intersection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) (LXinfo May 2010) were not realised as the state of California’s finances have been tapped for a US$91m contribution which unlocks a further US$33.8m in federal stimulus funding. This follows a unanimous vote of The California Transportation Commission on May 19th, 2010 to draw-down money from the state’s transportation bond fund.

Now, citizens can look forward to less queuing and slow moving trains blocking level crossings as far away as Riverside. But, they will still have to wait several years before they realise the benefits as construction of the rail-over-rail grade separation isn’t expected to start until the second half of 2011. More immediately, the level crossings on E and H streets in Colton itself will be eliminated to enable the construction of the BNSF – UP grade separation to begin.

(May 20th, 2010)

Vista Alegre, Argentina: Taxi wrecked in collision

A taxi driver escaped without serious injury when his vehicle was hit by a freight train. The accident occurred on the Calle Coulin level crossing when, for reasons presently unknown, the taxi driver stopped his vehicle on the level crossing. One theory is that he entered the level crossing before his exit from it was assured because traffic had blocked-back to the level crossing.

(May 19th, 2010)

Columbus, Ohio: PUCO OKs level crossing upgrades

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) on May 19th, 2010, approved construction authorisation from the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) for the installation of flashing lights and barriers at level crossings in Hancock and Fairfield Counties.

CSX Transportation will install flashing lights and barriers at the Huntington Road/Township Road 108 (513-683L) level crossing in Hancock County.

Indiana & Ohio Central Railroad will install flashing lights and barriers at the Pickerington Road/County Road 20 (228-945G) level crossing in Fairfield County.

The rail infrastructure owners must submit site plans and cost estimates for the projects to PUCO by August 17th, 2010. Funding for these upgrades will be provided through federal funds. The rail infrastructure owners will be responsible for completing construction of the upgrades by May 19th, 2011.

(May 19th, 2010)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Police drive nets hundreds

Louisiana State Police, Canadian National special agents, other railway staff and officers from four local forces joined forces to mount an Operation Lifesaver safety drive across the metropolitan New Orleans area. Police were stationed at a number of level crossings to educate motorists and pedestrians and to ticket those who breached the law when using the level crossings under observation.

This safety drive repeats an event held in 2009 and is part of a commitment within Louisiana to reduce the number of fatal accidents on the state’s level crossings. In addition to hitting motorists for violation of level crossing laws, the safety-drive targeted other motoring offences including speeding and failure to wear seatbelts.

In all, a total of 328 tickets were issued. Of those, 140 were for violation of level crossing safety laws. The second largest category of violations with 106 tickets related to seatbelt and child restraints.

(May 19th, 2010)

Although the digest covering the outputs of the National Co-operative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project 17-18(19), a “White Paper on Alternate Strategies for Safety Improvement Investments” does not consider level crossing safety, it provides a useful insight into the approaches adopted by state departments of Transportation.

Specifically, this digest presents the results of a study to review the two methods currently being used by states to allocate safety resources. The terminology commonly used to describe these methods is “black-spot” analysis and “systematic” methods. A survey of practice was distributed to all 50 states and follow-up case studies were conducted in four of the responding states —Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and North Carolina.

The states that participated in this project indicated that the characteristics associated with their severe crashes have caused their programmes to be more focused on rural areas, to include more projects that involve the proactive deployment of low-cost strategies widely across their systems, and to provide an increased level of engagement with local highway agencies. By extension, rail infrastructure owners ought to be similarly engaged as level crossing safety needs to be managed in a collaborative manner taking account of wider highway factors within advance warning signs deployed at level crossings.

The digest can be found online at: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rrd_345.pdf

(May 18th, 2010)

Olympia, Washington: Case study approach to roadside vegetation management

Washington Department of Transportation has published a report documenting findings from a case study based approach to roadside vegetation management across the state.

Although the case studies do not consider treatment of vegetation within sighting triangles at level crossings, it is a useful review of alternatives approaches adopted in differing climatic conditions.

The report can be found online at:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/736.1.pdf

(May 18th, 2010)

Washington, DC: Systematic road assessment programme for the US?

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released the phase three report of their study considering the case for a systematic, ountry-wide road assessment programme – USRAP. Although the report doesn’t specifically consider the level crossing component of a highway, the report is a good explanation of the thinking behind and case for systematic road assessment programmes. These are already to be found in Europe and Australia.
               
In essence the case for a systematic road assessment programme is that more can be done to address the highways component of road accident causation. Clearly, there are places where the configuration of a level crossing is material to accident causation and therefore level crossings need to be a component of structured road assessment programmes

The full report can be found at:
http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/usRAPIIIFinalReport.pdf

(May 18th, 2010)

 

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) partnered with the Plano Police Department to conduct an Operation Lifesaver “Officer on a Train” event at the Jupiter Road and Plano Parkway level crossings, among others, in Plano, on May 19th, 2010, in an effort to promote public safety at level crossings.

“KCSR takes its position as a positive corporate citizen very seriously and we are committed to improving public safety in the communities where we operate,” said Allen Pepper, KCSR Director Public Safety. “We are pleased to join forces with local law enforcement to raise awareness about the importance of safety at highway rail grade crossings and the dangers of trespassing on railroad rights of way.”

During the Officer on a Train event, law enforcement officers will be stationed on a moving KCSR train and at nearby crossings, watching for level crossing violations. Motorists who do not heed the law may be issued a citation.

(May 17th, 2010)

Mebane, North Carolina: Heavy truck derails train, fire takes hold

An Amtrak train has collided with a tractor-trailer combination loaded with an excavator on a level crossing in Mebane. The collision which occurred during the morning of May 13th, 2010 derailed the locomotive and first three vehicles of the passenger train. As a result of the collision the locomotive caught fire and was burned-out. Eleven passengers and a member of the train crew were taken to hospital, one of them with serious injuries.

It appears that the tractor-low boy trailer combination was stuck, straddling the tracks at the time of the collision on the Center Street active level crossing. North Carolina Department of Transport Officials have said that the truck driver should have avoided the level crossing and obeyed posted signs to that effect.

Extensive damage to railway infrastructure ensued with track needing to be relayed and the level crossing barrier / light units needing to be replaced. Norfolk Southern, owners of the right of way over which the Amtrak service was operating, completed their repairs allowing the rail line to re-open to traffic late on May 14th, 2010.

Mebane City Council have reminded media outlets that several years ago they were opposed to the speed of the railway through the city being increased from 45 to 79 miles per hour. Rather than reiterating this, it would be more helpful if the city council focussed on the root cause of the accident and identify what they could contribute to prevent a recurrence.

(May 14th, 2010)

Collision consequences Mebane, May 13th, 2010

Collision consequences Mebane, May 13th, 2010

Tucson, Arizona: C.O.P.S. initiative a success

Police in Tucson Arizona joined forces with Union Pacific Railroad (UP) Police for Operation Railroad C.O.P.S (Crossing Operation for Public Safety) which targeted level crossings to the south and west of the downtown area.

Using the tried and tested Officer on a Train approach to observe those using level crossings improperly and traffic police to stop these errant motorists, a total of 54 citations were issued. The tickets issued were mostly for failing to stop as required and weaving around lowered level crossing barriers. While the exercise focused on the behaviour of motorists, a number of cyclists and pedestrians were also ticketed for failing to comply with the requirement to stop when level crossing controls are displaying a stop requirement.

(May 14th, 2010)

Stuyvesant, New York: Litigation reopens 1996 closure edict

Back in 1996, it was decided that the active barrier equipped Ferry Road level crossing was unsafe and it was ordered that it should therefore be closed. In 2006 a stay was ordered until an alternative access route was constructed to link with Ice House Road. Now, further litigation is underway in front of an Administrative Law Judge of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYDOT).

Sworn statements from NYDOT and also the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) were given as the case reopened. Other officials and third parties were allowed to enter un-sworn statements onto the record.

By way of background, a link road is essential as without it three residential properties on Ferry Road would be unreachable by emergency and other vehicles. Therefore without the new road and if closure of the Ferry Road crossing goes ahead these properties would be subject to purchase under “eminent domain” by New York state.

With economic stimulus available funding to upgrade the presently passive level crossing on Ice House Road, NYDOT thoughts have once again turned to closure of the Ferry Road level crossing. However, the NYDEC is opposed to the construction of the necessary link road on the grounds that it will compromise the bio-diversity of the area and impact relatively rare species.

As a result of the NYDEC position concerning conservation of wetlands and sustaining bio-diversity, thoughts have turned to a simpler link road, perhaps a one-lane gravel road or the installation of co-acting traffic controls at the 9J highway junction near the Ferry Road level crossing.

Indeed, even the extreme option of grade separation cannot be ruled out if agreement to construct a link road isn’t possible. However, in the end it looks as if it would be cheaper for New York State to buy out the residents and eliminate the need for the level crossing. This position remains anathema to the residents of the historic properties accessed via the Ferry Road level crossing.

The number of stakeholders involved in any decision necessitates a consultation exercise once definitive plans have been developed as to the solution. Thus, it is likely that any long-term solution wont be in place until 2014 of later. Next step is for the Judge to make his recommendations as to the way ahead.

(May 14th, 2010)

Riverton, New Jersey: Commuter train takes out minivan on crossing

A New Jersey Transit River Line train collided with a minivan on the Main Street level crossing in Riverton. The accident which happened during the morning of May 13th, 2010 occurred when the crossing lights were at danger and the barriers lowered.

The motorist was seriously injured in the collision which resulted from a left turn from River Road onto Main Street and then onto the level crossing which was closed to road traffic.

(May 13th, 2010)

Burbank, California: Car turns off crossing, collision ensues

Investigators are seeking to understand how a car came to off a level crossing in Burbank where it was hit by a Metrolink commuter train. The collision occurred at the North Buena Vista Street level crossing during the morning of May 13th, 2010. The woman driver was able to get out of her car shortly before it was hit by the train.

An explanation for the incident is that the young woman wanted to turn right from Buena Vista onto Vanowen Street at an intersection adjacent to the level crossing.

The Buena Vista – Vanowen intersection and the level crossing have a substantive accident history and a record of near miss incidents too. Accordingly there are advocates that the intersection and level crossing configuration are fundamentally flawed. Much to the irritation of those who take this line is the response from local government that the problem isn’t the crossing itself; rather it is the users of it.

(May 13th, 2010)

Downers Grove, Illinois: BNSF and police join forces

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) is working with Downers Grove Police to promote safe behaviours at level crossings and ticket those who break the law. The safety drive will see strict enforcement of traffic laws, including those applicable to pedestrians through May 2010.

This campaign, branded “Police on-board for safety”, is particularly focused on those who seek to cross the railway when Illinois traffic law prohibits vehicular and pedestrian access. For those who fail to heed the rules for the safe use of level crossings, a trip to court is on the cards with a US$250 fine for first offenders, more serious sanctions apply to repeat offenders.

(May 12th, 2010)

 

Mansfield, Ohio: Mother initiates lawsuit following son’s death

A mother whose son was killed in 2008 when the car he was driving was struck by a train on the Springmill North Road level crossing in Springfield Township, near Mansfield in Richland County. The suit claims that CSX Transportation and Springfield Township were responsible for negligent maintenance and repair of the level crossing and that sightlines were compromised; that CSX train crew failed to sound the train horn as required; and, that the Township had failed to provide appropriate signage and traffic control devices.

The Ohio Highway Patrol investigation of the fatal accident found that said there were no an approaching train. There is also evidence that the train horn was sounded and that the motorists made no attempt to stop at the level crossing and that the train driver made an emergency brake application when it became evident that the motorist was not preparing to stop for the level crossing.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission working with Richland County officials recommended closing the passive Springfield North Road level crossing. Just a few weeks after the fatal accident Springfield Township Trustees voted in favour of closure as recommended by state and county bodies.

(May 12th, 2010)