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.

Brussels, Belgium: EC workshop on level crossing safety

The European Commission (EC) hosted a two day seminar on level crossing safety on April 15th and 16th, 2010. The headline theme of the event was that the 3Es of the Operation Lifesaver approach – Engineering, Education and Enforcement – are the keyto assuring safety at level crossings.

The workshop organised by DG Move (Road Safety) was attended by representatives from most European Union member states and were drawn from road and rail as well as the police, representative organisations and European bodies.

In his opening address, Mr. Enrico Grillo-Pasquarelli said that level crossing accidents are unique in requiring a bi-modal approach. Mr Grillo-Pasquarelli also highlighted the contribution of user error and the role that citizens should play in using crossings safely.

The workshop follows on from delivery of the EC funded SELCAT research project, the success of the European Level Crossing Awareness Day (ELCAD) in June 2009 and the ongoing development of a European road - rail interface strategy by the European Level Crossing Forum.

The success of ELCAD which reached beyond Europe with support from Israel, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and the USA led to a decision to extend coverage to a world-wide International Level Crossing Awareness Day, the first of which is to be held on June 22nd, 2010.
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In addition to presentations within the themes of engineering, education and enforcement a fourth strand, policy was also addressed. Topics in the policy theme covered:

The above and all other presentations are being made available via the EC’s Europa website at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/index_en.htm

(April 21st, 2010)

United Kingdom: Regulator consults on revised guidance

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has launched a consultation on the revision of the guidance they publish in respect of level crossings.

ORR is consulting on two separate guides – one for users and the other aimed at those involved in the design, maintenance and continued assessment of level crossing suitability.

The user guide “Using level crossings safely” is aimed at anyone who uses level crossings, including pedestrians, motorists and agricultural workers. ORR maintains it provides easy-to-understand advice on how to use a crossing safely, while also referring to specific rules, as set out in The Highway Code, relating to using level crossings.

The technical guidance “Managing Level Crossings: Guide for managers, designers and operators” is replacing ORR’s Railway Safety Principles and Guidance, Part 2, Section E: Guidance on level crossings (“RSPG2E”), first published in 1996, by the Health and Safety Executive. This guidance now also includes the previous separate guidance on “A guide to the level crossing order submissions”.

ORR asks that responses to this consultation exercise should be sent as soon as possible, but no later July 13th, 2010.If you have comments. Please send them to Chandrika Shah in ORRs legislative development team at chandrika.shah@orr.gsi.gov.uk

The documents open for consultation can be found at:
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.10080

(April 20th, 2010)

Washington, DC: Transportation planners Safety Desk Reference updated

The updated Transportation Planner’s Safety Desk Reference which includes strategies derived from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s (NCHRP) “Report 500 Guidance for Implementation of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Strategic Highway Safety Plan” is now available.

All 22 emphasis areas are now covered, including five new ones (young drivers, bicycle collisions, speeding, head-on collisions on freeways, and motorcycles). Additional sections on collecting and analyzing highway safety data and developing emphasis area plans have also been added.  This document discusses the planner’s role in transportation safety and the incorporation of safety into the transportation planning process, as such it is relevant to those addressing the highway aspects of railway level crossings.

Each emphasis area section includes:

This document is being made available on the Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety website, http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/tsp/

(April 9th, 2010)