Railroad accidents are no fun. Whether it’s a derailment, train malfunction, problems with warning signals, or someone trying to beat the gate, accidents almost always end in tragedy. Who owns the warning signs that are meant to protect the public? Who regulates their placement? Who maintains them?
Because accidents often occur at a grade crossing, where a highway and railroad cross, several private and public agencies, have jurisdiction.
Railroad companies own and maintain the tracks and the track right-of-way. They install and maintain the tracks, the road surface around the rails, and traffic control devices on their rights-of-way.
The road at the crossing is generally owned and maintained by a municipality, county, or state agency. In some cases, at farm or industrial crossings, the road is privately owned. Whether public or private, typically the owner maintains the road approaching the crossing on either side of tracks. The placement and regulation of warning signs, however, falls to different agencies.
On the Federal Level
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is responsible for public grade crossing issues. They set standards for safety, design of the crossing, placement of traffic control devices, and the design of advance warning signs such as crossbucks, pavement markings, and in some locations, bells, gates, and flashing lights. These standards are set out in FHWA’s Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulates grade crossing safety as it pertains to the railroads, i.e., track & train safety, train-activated warning devices, and visibility. For example, the agency regulates the type of lighting to be placed on a locomotive, the audibility of the train horns, and the inspection, testing, and maintenance of grade crossing signals. The FRA also promotes technologies to improve safety, such as special brakes and on-board sensors to detect broken wheels.
On the State Level
The need to improve highway-rail crossings and eliminate hazards is great. Which safety hazard has priority? To answer this question, each state determines where grade crossing improvements are needed. They develop a priority list based on train speed, train volume, the number of pedestrian and vehicle crossings, and accident history. Railroad and the highway owners help the state collect this data.
NYS relies heavily on federal money (Section 130 funds), to reduce railroad hazards. For most highway-rail crossings, federal money is available at a 90% share, with the rest to be paid by NYS and/or the local highway agency and/or the railroad.
The federal share may be increased to 100% to improve signs, pavement markings, and active warning devices; eliminate hazards; and close crossings to divert traffic elsewhere. The decision on whether to allow 100% federal funding rests with each state. Federal money cannot be spent on private rail crossings.
On the Local Level
Stop signs, yield signs, and active warning signals are highway control devices and cannot be installed by the railroads without the permission of the highway owner, even if the units are installed within the railroad right-of-way.
Once safety control devices are installed, the highway owner (whether NYS or a local highway agency or municipality) is liable for maintaining those items within their right-of-way. Close coordination with the railroads is necessary, however, for the care and testing of advance warning circuitry.
On the Railroad Level
The railroads are responsible for the installation and maintenance of rail warning devices within their right-of-way and for advance warning circuitry. All railroads have a track inspection program and some heavily traveled routes are inspected daily. The inspections cover track and right-of-way conditions, whistle posts, crossbucks, passive and active warning devices, working power, back-up power, brush control, and sight distance at crossings.
Some railroads sponsor safety programs for new, adult, and professional drivers. Others participate in training for grade crossing collisions, offer an ‘Officer on the Train’ program so that police officers get a feel for grade crossing compliance problems, and install surveillance cameras to videotape drivers who violate crossing laws. Violators are issued a warning letter but no ticket.
Summary
Regardless of who pays for what, it is only through the joint effort of the railroads, state and federal agencies, local municipalities, private property owners, and the public by which improved rail safety can be attained.
Help out: stop, look, and listen before crossing a track.
