Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety

Introduction The Challenge: Reduce Vehicle-Train Collisions and Pedestrian Deaths

• History and characterization of rail crossing safety
• Public funding
• Current progress

Grade Crossing Traffic Control Devices

• Types of devices
• Selection criteria
• Costs and maintenance
• Guidelines: FHWA, NCHRP, NCUTCD, and MUTCD

Train Detection and Warning Systems

• Regulations, standards, NTSB recommendations, and industry practices
• Basic train detection types
• Technical advances
• Issues and complications (at multiple crossings and/or railroad control points)
• Deciding system types and warning device placements (cantilevers, gates, lengths and placements, additional lights, control cabinets, etc.)

Interconnection of Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Systems and Highway

Traffic Signals

• Reference documents, guidance and standards, and definitions
• Railway warning times and APT
• Preempt traps
• Interconnect circuits

Grade Separations and Grade Crossing Surfaces

• When to grade separate
• Grade separation design considerations
• Grade crossing design
• Crossing surface material selection
• Crossing construction, reconstruction, and maintenance

Crossing Closures and Consolidation Strategies

• Evaluation and identification of projects
• Long-range planning
• Financial incentives
• Public relations
• Case study US DOT

National Grade Crossing Inventory Program

• Role, purpose, and use
• Mandatory requirements of the

Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008

• Updating crossing data in the national file
• Reconciling railroad and state data files with the national file
• Identifying the riskiest crossings using the

Accident Prediction Model

The Program Roles of State and Local Governments and Railroads

• Available federal programs and state programs
• How programs are administered and carried out
• Project selection criteria
• Engineering and estimating
• Contract process

Public Education and Outreach Programs

• Operation Lifesaver: rail safety education
• Statistics and results
• Educational resources
• Training programs

Quiet Zones

• FRA regulations
• Vehicle and pedestrian issues
• Mitigations and supplementary safety measures
• Costs, experiences, and future measures to reduce noise and improve safety