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FRA Supports Expanded Use of
Toll-Free Emergency Numbers at
Highway-Rail Grade Crossings to Improve Safety for Motorists and Rail Passengers
Toll-free emergency telephone numbers posted at highway-rail grade crossings used to report problems with warning equipment or other emergencies are effective in enhancing motorist and rail passenger safety and should be expanded to include more crossings, said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman.
A new report from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) finds that malfunctioning warning lights and gates at grade crossings have been repaired more quickly by railroads thanks to people using the telephone number, Boardman said. Also, freight and passenger trains have been slowed or stopped to prevent collisions with stalled vehicles, trespassers, and other obstructions on the tracks, he said.
Over 75 percent of grade crossings with flashing lights and gates, and over 60 percent of all public grade crossings, have such an emergency number posted, according to Boardman.
“Many grade crossing accidents can be prevented and lives saved when the public knows where to call to report a problem,” Boardman stated. “More grade crossings need to have emergency numbers posted so more potential tragedies can be avoided.”
The findings support U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta’s Highway-Rail Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention Action Plan, which calls for universal implementation of the toll-free emergency notification system at all public grade crossings. The FRA also recommends emergency numbers be posted at private grade crossings with significant public use such as to access shopping centers, industrial parks and residential developments.
In addition, the FRA will provide the necessary operating software and work to identify possible start-up funding to encourage smaller freight railroads to join together and establish combined toll-free emergency call-in systems to cover grade crossings not part of any existing program.
Since 1995, the highway-rail grade crossing collision rate has declined from 6.92 to 3.84 per million train miles, reaching an all-time low in 2005. And, the number of deaths resulting from train-vehicle collisions has decreased 38.5 percent, from 579 to 356, over the same period.
A copy of the report can be found on the FRA web site at www.fra.dot.gov.
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