Durango, Colorado: New trail, new level crossings before PUCC

The Public Utilities Commission of Colorado has before it a complex and contested application before it from the City of Durango to construct a multi-use trail within the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNGR) right of way and to construct four additional level crossings of the D&SNGR.

The application raises jurisdictional issues concerning the proposal to construct the trail within the D&SNGR right of way. Additionally, representations have been made opposing the trail generally and more specifically the additional level crossings at which a waiver of safety rules has been sought.

In light of the issues raised, PUCC has determined that the application should be referred to an administrative law judge for further gathering of evidence and consideration of the issues raised by those opposed to the application.

(April 30th, 2010)

Houston, Texas: OL begins Houston distraction PSA campaign

Texas leads the United States in the number of collisions between vehicles and trains at level crossings, and is second in rail-related pedestrian deaths and injuries. Distractions posed by phones and text messages can increase drivers' and pedestrians’ risk for deadly encounters with trains.

To address these issues, Texas Operation Lifesaver is launching a new radio public service announcement (PSA) safety campaign in the Houston area to remind people to “Stay Focused! Stay Alive!”

“Harris County consistently ranks at the top each year for both vehicle-train crossing collisions and pedestrian-train incidents. Our new PSAs remind drivers and pedestrians to avoid electronic distractions, especially near train tracks,” says Sally Tingle, Texas Operation Lifesaver state coordinator. “Whether you are on foot or driving a vehicle, distraction can be deadly, and trains can’t stop quickly because of their size and weight.”

A 30-second PSA on the consequences of distracted driving near trains will air on Clear Channel radio stations in Houston starting May 3, including KODA, SUNNY 99.1 and KTRH.  The safety messages will also appear on the radio stations’ websites.

Another 30-second PSA, focusing on pedestrian safety around trains, will also air starting in mid-May on KROI radio. Video versions of the distracted driving and pedestrian public service announcements are also available on the Operation Lifesaver website (click on www.oli.org/psas to view).

(April 30th, 2010)

DuPont, Washington: Opposition to rail plans widens

The City of DuPont, Pierce County, has come out alongside Lakewood in opposition to Washington’s Department of Transportation ( WaDOT) plans to start running passenger trains on  a presently slow speed, freight only, alignment. In the case of DuPont, opposition centres on a proposed level crossing over which trains would operate at speeds of up to 79 mph,

The City of DuPont is pushing WaDOT to commit to grade separation rather than a level crossing. WaDOT argues that this would increase costs and impose delays on the completion of the wider project. This, it has been said, could jeopardise some of the US$590m federal stimulus funding received by Washington in 2009.

The next step will be for the state’s Utilities and Transportation Commission (WaUTC) to convene a hearing on June 7th, 2010 to consider safety measures that WaDOT proposes to take at four level crossings along the proposed alignment. If WaUTC approves the improvements, the state is expected to tender the required works in autumn 2010.

The new alignment for passenger trains would, when completed in 2013, reduce Portland to Seattle journey times by around six minutes. This would be at the expense of further road traffic congestion on Barkesdale Avenue with an impact on traffic flows on Interstate 5 (Exit 119) and around the entrances to the Lewis-McChord military complex.

(April 27th, 2010)

González Catan, Argentina: Protesters block railway, demand a level crossing

Failure to deliver a level crossing by the date agreed led to protesters blocking the railway in the González Catan district of Buenos Aires. The protesters disrupted rail traffic for two days, destroying the integrity of the train service over the Belgrano Sur corridor. Normal services resumed by lunchtime on April 26th, 2010.

The driving force behind the protest was the citizens who would benefit from a level crossing of Calle Atalco. The protesters were riled because the municipality and other public authorities had, in their eyes, not taken full account of a compromise agreement reached last year.

(April 27th, 2010)

Woodland, California: Police and California Northern in harmony

While the Class One railroads, Amtrak and larger commuter rail agencies have specialist railway police, regional and short line operations rely solely on their relationship with local police forces to address motorist behaviour at level crossings.

A case in point is the joint education and enforcement initiative between the California Northern Railroad and Woodland Police which on May 12th, 2010, will see railway staff and police officers deployed. Although Woodland Police have not in recent years had to attend a fatal level crossing accident, they have nevertheless identified a pattern of abuse common at some of California’s 10,117 public level crossings.

Of concern is the number of motorists who stop on the roadway over the railway when their exit is impeded by the traffic ahead. These blocking back incidents are self evidently the result of stupidity in that too many don’t realise that the resultant risk of being hit by a train could so easily have fatal consequences.

The vehicle California Vehicle Code makes it abundantly clear that a motorist should never attempt to cross the railway at a level crossing until an exit route is assured. Likewise the offences in the Code specifically prohibit running red lights and weaving around barriers, but still, too many motorists see this as an acceptable behaviour. Hence the joint railway and police safety drive.

One of many Operation Lifesaver’s contributions to Rail Safety Week, April 26th to May 2nd, 2010, is a push to get younger children to Join Rover the Railway Rabbit and friends to learn important train safety lessons through fun activities, stories and videos at www.olkids.ca

Included with the “Are you rail smart?” messaging is a colouring competition open through to May 25th, 2010 which, although traditional, is an approach still seen to be of value.

Toronto, Ontario: GO moves from incandescent to LED

Commuter rail agency GO Transit has begun a campaign to upgrade the traffic signals at the 90 level crossings for which it is responsible. The programme provides for all remaining eight inch diameter incandescent lamps to be replaced with 12 inch diameter LED units which motorists will find easier to see.

The change in traffic signal lamps is the latest in a string of upgrades across the GO Transit level crossing inventory which saw crossings with lesser protection upgraded to a lights, bells and barrier configuration between 2004 and 2007. Subsequently some crossings have been further upgraded with installation of constant warning time predictor technology, solid-state control units and event recorders.

Pinnacle, North Carolina: Solar-powered level crossing signals

The Rail Division of North Carolina’s Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has funded the installation of the state’s first solar-powered level crossing controls. The system which has been developed and installed by Kentucky based C & S Signalling is the first of its type in North Carolina. The solar-powered controls have been installed at the Surry Line Road level crossing ion the Yadkin Valley Railroad in Pinnacle, Stokes County.

The C & S Signalling installation uses solar panels to recharge batteries which have a capacity to operate the level crossing over a 24 to 48 hour without there being any further solar generated recharge. Should the solar panels generate an insufficient charge, the NCDOT funded system is underpinned by way of a back-up transformer.

A second NCDOT funded solar-powered level crossing installation is in the planning stage. Additionally, it is hoped that other rail infrastructure managers will see the benefits of this green technology and install them more widely.

Washington, DC: CN to appear before STB in EJ&E compliance review

The Federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) has called for witnesses from Canadian National (CN) to appear before it to explain why there are discrepancies in its reports of level crossing closure times. The hearing relates specifically to CN’s January 2009 purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern (EJ&E) rail corridor around the congested Chicago hub area.

The hearing which began on April 28th, 2010, has been convened for CN to explain why their submissions to the STB on level crossing blockages of 10 minutes or more differs from data automatically recorded by data loggers.

The basis for the STB interest in this matter are the various agreements entered into by CN as pre-conditions in the STB approval of the purchase of the EJ&E which have been overlaid with voluntary agreements reached with many of the Chicago-land communities along the principal EJ&E right-of-way.

As part of its Approval Decision, the STB established a five-year monitoring and oversight period to allow the Board to examine closely various aspects of the transaction, including community concerns about post-acquisition increased delay and blockages at the numerous level crossings on the former EJ&E line.

As part of that oversight process, CN must file monthly status reports on certain operational matters related to the acquisition, including "the date and descriptive information about each crossing blocking occurrence on the [former] EJ&E rail line that exceeds 10 minutes in duration." Additionally CN also must file quarterly reports on the implementation of the environmental conditions.

CN reported in its November 2009 operational report four level crossing blockages of 10 minutes or more occurred because of stopped CN trains on the former EJ&E line. CN's December 2009 operational report stated that 10 blockages of 10 minutes or more had occurred as a result of stopped CN trains.

Citizens and communities along the former EJ&E alignment have been voicing concerns about the accuracy and completeness of CN's reports. To investigate, the STB tasked its independent third-party contractor, HDR Inc. (HDR), to review and audit information provided by CN in its monthly reports for November and December 2009. HDR was specifically instructed to review the information reported by CN on the number of trains operating on the former EJ&E line that caused blockages at level crossings for 10 minutes or more. The audit also involved vehicle delay and traffic congestion at level crossings; train volumes; noise and vibration caused by CN trains; operational accidents; and appropriate public grade crossing signs.

HDR's independent audit report, prepared at the behest of STB a significantly different story than CN's reports. HDR's report explains that it discovered that many of the level crossings on the former EJ&E line acquired by CN are equipped with Radio Transmission Units(RTUs) which record when crossing gates are down. When the gate down time exceeds 10 minutes, the RTU sends a time-stamped facsimile message to the CN’s dispatcher. When the crossing gate is raised, the RTU sends another fax to the train dispatcher indicating that the gate has been raised, along with the time that the crossing gate has gone up. The total elapsed time is then calculated and archived.

According to HDR's report, the RTU-generated data shows 1,457 instances, involving 85 different level crossings on the former EJ&E line, where the crossing signal system was activated and the gates were in the down position for periods exceeding 10 minutes in November and December 2009. The 14 instances of level crossing blockages due to stopped trains in CN's reports for these months are included in the RTU-generated data for the same time periods. However, 1,443 street crossing blockages of 10 minutes or more listed in the RTU-generated data are not described in CN's monthly reports to the STB.

Consequently, the STB ordered CN to appear for a hearing at the Board's offices on April 28th, 2010. At that time, the STB expected CN to address why it did not report the existence of this data to the Board earlier as part of its ongoing monitoring responsibilities. HDR representatives also will appear at the hearing to answer Board questions regarding its independent audit that uncovered this RTU data.

The hearing will be open for public observation but not for public participation. However, the general public is invited to file written comments by May 28th, 2010, on HDR's audit and the RTU-data CN will now be submitting to the Board.

A newspaper in Corboda has launched the DiaaDia.com website to allow citizens to highlight problems with the potential to cause harm in the community. The growing network of “citizen reporters” has highlighted a large number of issues associated with the condition of roads and efficacy of street lighting. Within the cohort of highway condition reports, a number relate to the condition of the roadway over level crossings across the city.

The reporters make a strong case for change in the way in which the roadways over level crossings are maintained. At the moment there is no sense that there is a programme to undertake the necessary remedial actions. Rather, it is suggested, there is complacency in the management of level crossings, with an acceptance that the surfaces, as shown in images submitted by the cadre of “citizen reporters, are in bad condition.

Federal prosecutors have instructed the railway operator, Ferrovia Tereza Cristina (FTC), to implement improvements at level crossings located between the municipalities of Sangão and Capivari de Baixo in Santa Catarina Province. At one crossing the requirement is that the roadway is paved and that the crossing must be protected by lights and barriers. At other locations the provision of pedestrian facilities has been targeted

The rationale for the required upgrade is that rail traffic has doubled since the privatisation of FTC in 1996 and the accident history of the level crossings, particularly between 2004 and 2009.

(April 23rd, 2010)

America Latina Logistica (ALL) has launched a level crossing blitz to engage with motorists and encourage them to behave safely at level crossings. The campaign in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul, is also targeting pedestrians some of whom have a predisposition to cross even though they are aware of a train nearing a level crossing. The 2010 campaign builds on those undertaken annually since ALL took over rail services in Matto Grosso do Sul in 2007.

Canadian National’s (CN) drive to raise awareness of level crossing safety and the dangers of trespass reaches out to school children from an early age with the help of Little Obie, a miniature locomotive.

By way of an example, CN with support from Operation Lifesaver has been taking the “look, listen and live” message into elementary schools with safety messages delivered in a way that illustrates positive behaviours around the railway. After the presentation, delivered by Operation Lifesaver volunteers, the children get to ride around the neighbourhood on Little Obie.

Peachtree City, Georgia: Citizens call for a quiet zone

Community activists are calling on Peachtree City Council to take action and implement a quiet zone along the CSX Transportation (CSX) right of way. In the apparent lack of interest in silencing the train horns sounded on the approach to the City’s level crossings, the activists have suggested that every time they hear a train horn sounded for a level crossing, they should email a complaint to the Mayor and also to CSX.

The rationale is that if enough people show they care about the issue, political reality will dawn and the city will take steps to upgrade level crossings to meet the standards required to satisfy the Federal Railroad Administration’s train horn rule.

Direct action has successfully brought pressure to bear in other communities blighted by train horn noise. It will be interesting to see if the suggested email campaign can have an impact in Peachtree City.

Miami, Florida: Safety week messages targets level crossing misuse

In South Florida the third week of April is Train Safety Awareness Week. Central to this is the raising of awareness of the arrangements for the safe use of level crossings and the dangers of trespassing on the railway.

Officials from law enforcement, rail authorities and a wider caucus of volunteers are mounting an information and enforcement drive along the Tri Rail commuter rail service corridor running from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), Montana Rail Link, Amtrak, Operation Lifesaver and others combined forces to raise awareness of level crossing safety issues. Central to the campaign is a special “all aboard for safety” train devoted to railway safety issues which cab toured by community and family groups. The train was berthed in Helena for two days, April 19th – 20th, 2010. This is the latest call for the “all aboard for safety” train which has already toured in Washington and Oregon and moves onto Drummond when it leaves Helena.

(April 19th, 2010)

University Park, Illinois: Crossing signal not working at time of fatal accident

A motorist died when the car in which she was travelling was struck by a train on a level crossing that was inoperative. The accident occurred on the Stuenkel Road level crossing, which is equipped with warning lights and barriers, in University Park on April, 16th, 2010. Witnesses have said that the lights did not activate and that the barriers only descended when the train had almost cleared the level crossing.

Canadian National (CN) has confirmed that the level crossing was not functioning correctly at the time of the accident. CN has also confirmed that it maintenance staff working in the vicinity at the time of the accident. However, an investigation is on-going to determine whether the activities being undertaken by the maintenance staff was material to the level crossing failing to work as intended.

United States: HAWK signals conflict with level crossing signals

A growing number of cities in the United States are adopting the HAWK pedestrian crossing system employing alternating flashing red signals with a different meaning to the flashing red lights used at level crossings.

The unambiguous position at a level crossing is that you stop and remain stopped until the flashing lights are extinguished. However at HAWK pedestrian level crossings the motorist stops for a red light as usual but may proceed if the crossing is clear once the red flashing light sequence has begun. In the case of a motorist who is not already stopped, the flashing red means stop and proceed if safe so to do.

A number of people have flagged up the dangers that the adoption of HAWK pedestrian activated crossings will undermine the integrity of flashing red lights installed at level crossings. This is surely an issue that human factors experts need to address before there are accidents at level crossings in which motorists have stopped at the alternating flashing lights and then proceeded because they believed it safe to cross because they could not see an approaching train.

Burleson, Texas: Enforcement drive in fatal accident hotspot

Union Pacific (UP) and local police have mounted an enforcement drive in Burleson, Texas to communicate the importance of observing the law at level crossings. The campaign follows a period of less than a year in which there have been three level crossing fatalities within the jurisdiction of the Burleson Police Department.

Officers were deployed at the Alsbury Boulevard and Renfro Street level crossings in Burleson on April 15th, 2010. Nine motorists were ticketed for ignoring the warning signals. Each of these tickets will lead to a US$176 fine.

On December 8th, 2009 a man was killed when he ignored lights, audible alarm and lowered barrier, proceeding into the path of a train on the County Road 921 level crossing.

Prior to this a motorist was killed when he drove around a vehicle stopped at a level crossing in Alsbury, proceeding into the path of a train with fatal consequences. The most recent fatality on March 8th, 2010 was very different in nature as it occurred when a pedestrian lay down on the tracks. It is believed that this was an intentional act.

More widely in Texas as a whole, 56 people died in level crossing accidents in 2009.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Awareness raising in full swing

Operation Lifesaver and Norfolk Southern (NS) have joined forces to raise awareness in the community of the risks associated with level crossing abuse. Last year, only one person died as a result of a collision on a Pennsylvania level crossing. However, there were 46 collisions involving trains and road vehicles.

To raise awareness, the approach adopted on this occasion was a special NS train with Operation Lifesaver in support. The train, for state and local officials, was equipped with cameras relaying images to monitors in the passenger accommodation so that everyone on board can see the line ahead and the many level crossings on the 120 mile round trip along the Monongahela valley which is a major source of coal traffic fro NS..

The train journey also allowed NS and Operation Lifesaver to raise awareness of the trespass issues along railway rights of way. In 2009, there were 29 trespasser fatalities on Pennsylvania’s railway rights of way.

Elmhurst, Illinois: Police blitz nets offenders

Police policy in Elmhurst, Illinois, is to strictly enforce road traffic laws at level crossings within its jurisdiction. This approach means that Elmhurst has only had one fatal level crossing accident since 1994.

To continue making the point that there is zero tolerance for those who abuse level crossings, six police officers were recently deployed on patrol at the Metra rail station level crossing. Typical of those reminded of the law was a cyclist who rode over the crossing as a train approached before being stopped and given a citation with a US$250 price tag.

Statistics released by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) show that 2009 was a good year for safety at public level crossings in Illinois with 80 collisions involving trains, vehicles and pedestrians. Accidental deaths (i.e. excluding intentional deaths) fell to 16 from 25 in 2008, a year in which there were 129 collisions.

(April 15th, 2010)

Ottawa, Canada: Transport Minister announces CA$11m funding

Canada’s Transport Minister, John Baird, has announced nearly CA$11m funding for level crossing upgrades across Canada. The Minister said Baird that it was “encouraging” that since 1981, Canada has seen [level] crossing collisions drop by more than 70%”. Mr Baird added “In 2009 alone, there was a 36% decrease from the previous year in the number of crossing fatalities and injuries here in Canada,”

The disbursement of funding made available through the 2010-2011 Grade Crossing Improvement Fund is as set out in the table to the right:

Orange County, California: Funding boost for rail upgrades

Rail and highway projects throughout Orange County, California, will benefit from the allocation of more than US$357m made by the California Transportation Commission (CaTC).

CaTC allocated the money to Orange County as a result recent bond sales last month. The projects which benefit are part of the citizen approved Proposition 1B and Proposition 116 bond programs to fund transportation projects across California.

One Orange County Transportation Authority project to receive funding was the US$11.5m allocated for Metrolink service expansion projects and level crossing enhancement.

(April 15th, 2010)

Des Moines, Iowa: Level crossing delays generating complaints

City fathers in Des Moines are concerned at the number of citizens who contact them to complain of delays they experience at level crossings. Problems are mostly experienced by road-based commuters travelling in the east of the city. In extreme circumstances some residents have experienced delays of up to 45 minutes as they wait to cross the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) right of way.

City Councillors have agreed unanimously that the Mayor should tackle UP about the issue, particularly when trains come to a stand over a level crossing. The area of concern includes the intersections of the north-soth UP alignment with streets between Hull Avenue in the north and Maury Street in the south.

In terms of rail traffic, the UP line linking Minneapolis and Kansas City only see about ten through trains each day in Des Moines. However, there is extensive switching activity associated with rail served businesses along the UP alignment.