CHICAGO — Operation Lifesaver’s “See Tracks-Think Train!” nationwide information blitz during the last week of September was the latest attempt to heighten public awareness of inherent dangers around railroad property.
A recent symposium sponsored by the Chicago-area DuPage Railroad Safety Council took that initiative a step further, featuring presenters who discussed the scope of recent trends and efforts to counteract a rise in trespassing fatalities.
The Federal Railroad Administration says 715 trespassing deaths occurred on railroad rights-of-way in 2023, compared with a 10-year annual average of about 500. Of these, FRA data indicates about 200 were intentional fatalities. That classification is likely underreported, however, because a local coroner’s finding may not include subsequent evidence obtained from forward-facing locomotive video.
As reported previously [see “Behind the blue sign,” Trains.com, July 16, 2024, and December 2024 Trains Magazine], there were 245 deaths at highway crossings. This number has remained relatively stable over the last decade, in part due to stepped-up implementation of highway safety features such as delineators showing where the pavement ends, quad gates, and grade separations.
Making motorists aware of Emergency Notification System blue signs at every crossing is the latest initiative. Chicago’s Metra wrapped one of its F40 locomotives with that message, and the DuPage council recently purchased commercials on the local CBS-TV station to get the word out.
On the other hand, counteracting trespassing deaths has proven especially vexing. In an era when walkers wear earbuds while looking down at their phones as they cross busy intersections, railroads hope signage will at least attract their attention.
Brightline Director of Safety Joe Meade told meeting participants that, unfortunately, the company continues to contend with bad behavior. Attempts to change the mindset of trackside residents who now see 32 speeding passenger trains instead of a dozen slower-moving freights on the Miami to Cocoa, Fla., right-of-way have included partnerships with local communities to erect decorative, impenetrable fencing.
“We put about 30 miles of fencing in, and we have a location where the fence sometimes gets cut as installers drive away,” says Meade. “Then if there is an incident, lawyers say, ‘if you put a fence in, you have to maintain it.’”
He demonstrated how new technology is beginning to enter the picture. A “geo fence” is being tested at locations with repeat trespassing issues. An audible warning that the police have been notified is broadcast if someone attempts to cross an electronic line. “It works; people always turn back,” Meade says. but stretched-thin departments can’t always respond, so the installation has to be moved around to different locations.
Brightline is also involved in a project with the FRA to use Artificial Intelligence programs analyzing video from locomotives to predict trespassing behavior.
Once problem areas are identified, finding the money and resources for law enforcement is key. The recent round of Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants lists eight projects totaling $43.1 million to address trespassing prevention and enforcement. [see “FRA awards $2.4 billion …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 29, 2024].
Though a timetable for the next round of grants has yet to be determined, FRA Office of Safety Transportation Analyst Mike Grizkewitsch told the Chicago group that his department had previously provided over $2 million for overtime and officers’ salaries on 1-mile segments of FRA regulated track without requiring a local match. He says, “Making law enforcement eligible for trespass mitigation measures has been moved into the much larger CRISI program.”
A minimum 20% match is needed for CRISI applications, and it is unclear given current political priorities if or when additional grants will be made available. But there is clearly a push to address and help mitigate railroad trespass and safety issues.
