Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are awarding than $200,000 in competitive rail safety awareness grants to Operation Lifesaver programs in a dozen states.
Recently introduced legislation would identify and address cases of blocked railroad crossings by examining more than 200,000 grade crossings across the country.
As of Sept. 30, 2020, positive train control (PTC) is in operation or revenue service demonstration (RSD) on 99.6 percent of the 57,537 route miles subject to the federal mandate, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) said.
The Stop. Trains Can’t. campaign will run on radio, digital, and social media, educating drivers not to gamble with their lives at rail grade crossings.
The money, through the Safety Research and Demonstration and the Bus Operator Compartment programs, supports safety and innovation in the transit industry.
Nearly half (48 percent) of rail tank cars carrying Class 3 flammable liquids in 2019 met new safety requirements, up from a third (33 percent) in 2018.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has submitted to the Federal Register a final rule allowing railroads to use ultrasonic inspection technology, augmented with global positioning system (GPS) technology, to employ continuous rail testing.
Nearly all railroads subject to the positive train control (PTC) mandate are operating their systems in revenue service or in advanced field testing. However, two railroads are at risk of not fully implementing PTC on all required main lines by Dec. 31: New Jersey Transit and New Mexico Rail Runner Express.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently awarded more than $520,000 in Railroad Trespassing Enforcement Grants to law enforcement agencies in several states.