Railroad Safety Status Of Efforts To Improve Railroad Crossing Safety

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.

Railroad Safety: Status of Efforts to Improve Railroad Crossing Safety

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined federal efforts to improve railroad crossing safety, focusing on: (1) the progress made in reducing railroad crossing accidents and fatalities; (2) federal and state strategies that have the potential for reducing railroad crossing accidents and fatalities; and (3) the Department of Transportation's (DOT) progress in implementing its action plan for improving railroad crossing safety. GAO found that: (1) the annual number of accidents and fatalities at public railroad crossings has declined by 61 and 34 percent, respectively, since the Rail-Highway Crossing Program began in 1974; (2) progress in increasing railroad crossing safety has been limited, since states improved the most dangerous crossings during the first 10 years of the program; (3) DOT is developing new ways to distribute funds to those states with the most dangerous crossings and encourage improvements along specific rail corridors; (4) the states are working to close more crossings and strengthen public education and law enforcement efforts to change motorists' dangerous behavior; (5) DOT has set a national goal of reducing railroad crossing accidents and fatalities by 50 percent from 1994 to 2004; and (6) the success of the DOT action plan depends on states' and railroads' cooperation in implementing 55 separate proposals, adequate financing, and the development of an evaluation component to assess the effect of the actions taken.

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.

In 1980, the Staggers Rail Act fostered substantial changes in the railroad industry. By 1995, fewer large freight railroads accounted for most of the industry's revenue and train miles. At the same time, these freight railroads substantially reduced their workforce and track networks. Congress and railroad labor have raised concerns that these changes in the industry could compromise safety. This report provides information on operational and safety trends in the railroad industry and describes how the Federal Railroad Admin. has responded to these trends by developing a new partnering approach for improving safety on the nation's rail lines.