SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In separate bills, Illinois legislators are proposing to limit train lengths in the state to 8,500 feet and provide multiple actions to address trespassing along rail lines.
The train length bill, HB 2524, sponsored by state Reps. Jay Hoffman (D-Belleville) and Kelly Burke (D-Evergreen Park), was prompted by increasing complaints from constituents of longer, stalled freight trains blocking crossings in suburban St. Louis and Chicago areas. Delays have increased when trains experience mechanical issues, since troubleshooting takes more time with longer trains.
Illinois already has a statute permitting municipalities to fine railroad companies if a crossing is blocked during rush hours for more than 10 minutes in a 30-minute period, in counties of more than one million residents. That law, available here, also prescribes at least two operating employees on freight trains. However, the Federal Railroad Administration has no regulations mandating crew size, maximum train length or blocked crossing times, so the state law would still be subject to federal preemption, as railroads have consistently argued in court cases.
Addressing trespassing prevention
Another bill, HB 0813, would permit Illinois Grade Crossing Protection Fund money for “safety treatments that would deter trespassing;” eliminate the $2 million yearly limit on pedestrian walkway construction; and direct the Illinois Commerce Commission to manage identifying and constructing deterrents at trespassing locations within 1,000 feet of a public crossing.
It was re-introduced by Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) after being stuck in a logjam at the end of last year’s session. The bill is an effort to recognize and fund trespassing mitigation efforts as part of an update to the state’s Highway-Railway Grade Crossing Action Plan [see “FRA publishes rule requiring state plans on grade crossing safety,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 15, 2020].
Rather than limiting state improvement funding to the highway crossing itself, the amendment would permit the state commission “to order the terms of installation, operation, maintenance, and use of safety treatments requested by a public authority or rail carrier to deter trespassing on railroad property at a place other than a public crossing.” The trespassing location could be “within 1,000 feet of a public crossing or at a hotspot location as identified by the FRA and confirmed by the unit of local government, railroad, and Illinois Commerce Commission via diagnostic review.”
Gabel worked closely with Kurt Topel, a member of the DuPage Railroad Safety Council based in suburban Chicago, to incorporate the 1,000-foot language. Topel’s focus has been on the reporting of trespasser incidents, which have become more prevalent than deaths and injuries from train collisions with vehicles.
