Railroad Highway Safety

The last report to Congress on rail-highway crossing safety was in 1971-72. Since then, several actions and changes have occurred. These are discussed in the Executive Summary which is included in this report. This discussion is followed by 8 chapters. The final chapter summarizes the findings of this study on each of nine identified issues, as well as other issues identified during the course of the study.

Reports on federal efforts to improve safety at the nation's railroad crossings. Analyzes progress made in reducing accidents and fatalities at crossings. Discusses federal and state strategies -- for distributing funds, developing technologies, and educating the public. Assesses the Dept. of Transportation's (DoT) progress in implementing its action plan for improving railroad crossing safety. Charts, tables and graphs.

This Action Plan presents a multi-faceted, multi-modal approach for improving safety at our nation's highway-rail crossings and for the prevention of trespassing on the rights-of-way of our nation's railroads. It is multi-faceted in that it presents enforcement, engineering, education, research, promotional and legislative initiatives addressing crossings of both light and conventional rail rights-of-way by public and private streets and highways. The objectives were to reduce the number of highway-rail crossing accidents and casualties while not impeding, but facilitating, the contribution potential of the highway and rail infrastructure on the nation's economy.