Chapter 4
Railroad Research and Development Program

Section 4.7
Grade Crossings

CORE KNOWLEDGE

Crossing Project Evaluation and Investment Analysis

The Grade Crossing Research Program has been evaluated through a five-step, “fault-tree” process, described in Chapter 3 , with the objective of developing an explicit rationale for project selection and program development.   Results from this ongoing effort will help direct the grade crossing program through and beyond year five of this plan.  Three projects that ranked high in both the likelihood of success and the safety or regulatory impact of the research are the following:

Evaluation of effectiveness of barrier systems to preclude right-of-way incursion - This project examines the effectiveness of barrier methods such as median barriers with two-quadrant gates and four-quadrant gate systems to reduce accidents at crossings primarily attributed to driver action (drove around or through the crossing equipment or did not stop).  The research is aimed at application of new technology to improve the effectiveness of warning systems and will provide supported statements of warning device effectiveness.  These estimates could then be used in a resource allocation model to develop cost/benefit analyses to improve federal funding allocation.  One evaluation of a four-quadrant gate system at School Street, in Mystic, Connecticut on the Northeast Corridor, will be completed in mid-2002 for publication.

Development of enforcement guidelines - This project analyzes enforcement technologies and their costs and benefits, and formulates performance guidelines and/or best practices.  It reviews and analyzes enforcement-training programs and recommends improvements.  This research would provide insight to law enforcement agencies on enforcement issues at the highway-rail intersection.  Other potential outputs include identification of training issues for law enforcement and judicial officials.  Publication is planned in 2002.

Evaluation of off-track train detection techniques - This project investigates improved train detection techniques that do not rely on railroad track circuits.  This research could identify and test lower-cost warning device activation strategies, which implies that more crossings could be equipped with active devices.  Publication is planned in 2002.

Grade Crossing Closure

A review will be conducted to document crossing closure successes and failures.  A guidebook will be assembled for State agencies to assist them with their efforts to close grade crossings.  Publication is planned in 2002.

Study of Foreign High-Speed Rail Technologies

Reports on signaling/control technologies, obstacle detection, grade crossing warning systems, and barrier devices as well as methodologies used for warning device implementation used at high-speed crossings in Europe and elsewhere will be published in 2002.

PROJECT EVALUATION

Four-Quadrant Gate Assessment Model

A theoretical model of safety issues related to the use of four-quadrant gate systems will be developed for state agencies to use when considering the use of upgrading crossings with four-quadrant gates.  The model is scheduled to be available in 2002.

Grade Crossing Risk Assessment Methodology

The FRA has guidelines that recommend certain grade crossing warning systems for high-speed passenger service at train speeds of 79 miles per hour and higher.  At train speeds in excess of 125 miles per hour, these guidelines recommend grade separation or closure as the only acceptable treatment.  The risk assessment methodology examines the risk to motor vehicle occupants and railroad passengers and crew posed by these guidelines in order to provide a quantitative basis for specifying the nature of improvements to be made at crossings.  The assessment considers the risks and costs associated with alternative warning device options as a function of train speed, train type, collision type, and crossing characteristics such as highway traffic volume and type of existing warning device.  The analytical model developed to assess the risks of various warning and train protection alternatives was used to evaluate New York State’s Empire Corridor and the first phase of the North Carolina Sealed Corridor Program.  It will be applied to the California high-speed corridor and the Gulf Coast Corridor to help the States develop their grade crossing improvement programs.  The model will also be combined with a cost-benefit methodology to develop a prototype generic application as a user-friendly tool for evaluating proposed improvements to high-speed corridors.

Evaluate Whistle Ban Impacts

A draft rule to allow communities to institute whistle bans has been published by FRA’s Office of Safety, and the necessary supplemental safety measures have been defined.  Once the final rule is developed and whistle bans go into effect, those locations will be video-monitored to measure the effectiveness of the supplemental safety measures in the new quiet zones.  Video monitoring is currently being conducted at a single crossing in Spokane, Washington, that is equipped with a non-mountable median barrier.  Data collection was initiated in 1998 and will continue into 2002.  Recorded video data collected to date indicate that the barrier has been effective in reducing violations.

Video monitoring is also being conducted at three grade crossings in Yakima, Washington, equipped with various supplemental safety measures as specified in the whistle ban guidance to determine driver behavior.  Data collection efforts were initiated in September 2000, and will continue for two years.

Standardize Test Evaluation Procedures

Evaluation of field tests of new technologies requires significant resources and must identify all relevant issues in the evaluation plan prior to testing as well as be able to offer comparisons of various technologies.  This research will establish the contents of an overall evaluation methodology to ensure that all research tasks are included and that all safety effectiveness issues are addressed.  Additional work will develop standardized before/after evaluation criteria.

IMPROVED HARDWARE

Grade Crossing Illumination Guidelines

According to the 2000 grade crossing accident statistics, “vehicle-run-into-train” accidents continue to account for approximately one-third of night-time crossing accidents.  Poor visibility of the crossing and of the train within the crossing can contribute to these kinds of accidents.  A draft final report and brochure on the investigations of illumination systems to enhance the visibility of crossings and passing trains at both active and passive grade crossings was issued in 1998, and the final report and a brochure will be published in 2002.

Locked Gate at Private Crossings

A project being carried out with the New York State DOT will examine the use of a security gate, kept in the lowered position, for use at low-volume, private crossings.  The gate will be connected into the train control system so that the gate will not rise when a train is approaching.  Another project with Oregon DOT will examine the use of various gates and communication systems for use at low-volume private crossings.  The United Kingdom’s experience with this technique will be investigated to complement these projects.

Optimal Acoustic Warning (Train Horn)

This project will build upon the earlier train horn research to optimize the sound quality and effectiveness of horns for use on locomotives or in wayside horn systems, while minimizing the noise pollution in surrounding communities.  This project is to be completed in 2002.  In addition, Transport Canada is also investigating this issue and their experience will be examined to complement this research.

Train and Vehicle Presence Detection Study

FRA has joined with FHWA and the AAR to examine alternative train and highway vehicle detection technologies.  A request for technical information was released in late 1998, with a review of submittals in early 1999.  Testing was completed at TTC during the fall of 1999.  The project continued in 2000 examining test results, completing the final evaluation report, and proposing tests for new technologies as they arise.  The publication will be available in 2002.

Neural Network/Video Extraction

Under the HSR IDEA program sponsored by TRB, a neural network-based video content extraction system has been developed to detect obstacles in a crossing and to determine if a train occupies the crossing.  A field demonstration of the system will be conducted with the Florida Department of Transportation on the Southeast Florida Rail Corridor to evaluate the video image interpretation abilities of the system in all kinds of weather and train operating conditions.  This demonstration is to be completed in 2002.

Intrusion/Obstruction Detection

Intrusion detection systems use a variety of technologies to determine if an obstacle such as a highway vehicle is blocking a crossing, and can also be used to monitor the railroad right-of-way in general.  Intrusion detection systems may employ various detection technologies such as inductive loops, magnetometers, microwave, radar, video systems, or fiber-optic sensors imbedded in rail structures to detect the presence of a vehicle or other obstacles.  Several of these technologies are employed in Europe and Japan.  A research workshop was held in 1998 and   Proceedings became available in 2001.  This project will support the development of systems requirements for obstacle/intrusion detection devices and is scheduled for completion in 2002.

Improved Barrier Deployment Systems

This project will examine the latest technologies in electro-mechanical actuators and power electronics, which can offer advantages for the development of improved barrier deployment systems.  Communication linkage to the railroad maintenance office as well as highway traffic control will be examined to develop an “intelligent” grade crossing controller with health monitoring.  This two-year project is scheduled for completion in 2002.

Photo Enforcement

Photo enforcement holds significant potential for achieving greater compliance by motorists of safety laws at crossings.  A synthesis of techniques, results and effectiveness of photo enforcement, will be developed and will include work by NHTSA and FTA.  In 2001, the status of the use of photo enforcement at grade crossings was released in the form of a white paper.

Passive Crossings Initiative

The National Cooperative Highway Research Program is conducting a study: Recommended Traffic Control Devices for Highway-Rail Grade Crossings , which is examining the use of passive crossing devices.  A One DOT Technical Working Group has been organized to respond to the NTSB’s recommendations on passive devices.  FRA plans to evaluate the results of these activities and develop a program to examine innovative signs and warning systems at passive crossings.  These could include variable message signs tied into driver information systems, and other advanced ITS systems.  The TRB’s Committee on Rail-Highway Grade Crossings, in collaboration with Monash University and the Seventh International Symposium of Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, sponsored a symposium in February 2002 in Melbourne, Australia, to focus research in the area of passive crossing solutions.  This experience will help guide FRA research and may initiate complementary exploration of this topical area with Australia.

PROJECTS RELATED TO INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (ITS) AND POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL (PTC)

ITS is the application of new communications, computer, and sensor technology to highways and transit systems, and the careful integration of system functions to provide more efficient and effective solutions to multimodal transportation problems.  The goal of ITS is to provide a seamless, multimodal, and nationwide transportation system.  Development of the National ITS Architecture, which is the framework that addresses all ITS user services, and defines the subsystems and data flows (i.e., information that must be shared between subsystems) required to make ITS work, has been the first step in achieving this vision.  In particular, the technologies and operations needed for a transportation system that will satisfy the requirements of the 31 user services are defined in the architecture.  Two user services deal directly with grade crossings: #30, Highway-Rail Intersections, and #31, Archived Data.

Highway-Rail Intersections (HRI) User Service #30

The integration of the railroad operating systems with the traffic management systems through the ITS Architecture is shown in Figure 4.7.1.  This architecture was developed through a consensus process involving the AAR, ASLRRA, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), states, ITS America, FHWA, and FRA.  The result is a system that would have the capability for getting advance warning of approaching trains through interconnected information systems that link the motorist to the traffic management and rail operations systems.  It also allows for the capability of warning the locomotive engineer of obstacles or trapped vehicles at grade crossings, and potentially, for trespassers along the right-of-way.

Figure 4.7.1. Architecture of ITS User Service #30 – Highway-Rail Intersections

A number of ITS-related grade crossing projects were initiated prior to the establishment of the national architecture.  While all seem to have worked, providing safety benefits, and providing insights into the applicability of specific technologies, none were interoperable with one another.  Consequently, these projects are no longer being supported, and only those projects that are compatible with the national architecture will be supported in the future.

As the next step in the ITS Program, FRA and the ITS Joint Program Office have asked Standards Development Organizations, including the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, AREMA, AASHTO, and others, to develop the standards necessary for implementing ITS at grade crossings nationwide.  These standards will be the basis for projects that will tie grade crossing warning systems to local traffic management systems and will include communication to the PTC systems now being developed to increase safety for both motor vehicle users and rail passengers and crewmembers.  These standards will also be turned into regulations by FHWA for the purpose of funding decisions.  No Federal funds would go to the HRI projects not meeting the standards.

Archived Data User Service (ADUS) #31

Real-time data from traffic and transit operations can be archived and used for purposes other than in ITS control strategies.  By archiving the detailed data collected, more accurate analyses for planning, research, performance monitoring, and policy purposes can be conducted at much lower costs.  ADUS was the latest user service to be adopted into the National ITS Architecture in September 1999. 

Standards development is also underway for ADUS, and it will provide guidance in system design and promote the integration of ITS with traditional information systems and ensure consistent deployments of archives within regions as well as throughout the nation.  To implement ADUS, a Strategic Plan for ADUS Standards was one of the first specific activities identified.   Many of the other activities in the ADUS Program Plan will feed the standards efforts as more is learned from research and case studies.  Standards will expedite national level analyses that rely on comparing conditions across the country in a consistent manner as well as allow historical comparisons and trend monitoring since data definitions will remain stable over time.  They also will allow comparison of operations among various regions.

Intelligent Grade Crossings

As noted in Chapter 2, Intelligent Grade Crossings are those locations where ITS for roadways come together with Intelligent Railroad Systems, and in particular, PTC systems.  PTC systems, unlike traditional railroad signal systems, provide continuous information on train location and speed.  FRA, working with the ITS Joint Program Office, intends to sponsor Intelligent Grade Crossing projects on railroad corridors in Illinois and Alaska where FRA-sponsored communication-based PTC systems are being implemented and demonstrated.  A PTC project sponsored by CSX in South Carolina and Georgia is another potential site for an Intelligent Grade Crossing project.

Coordination will take place with the State highway departments so that these grade crossing projects are integrated with other ITS projects currently underway.  For example, warning to motor vehicles of oncoming trains, as well as advice on alternate routes to avoid blocked crossings, would be transmitted through the standardized ITS dedicated short-range communications system and displayed on standardized in-vehicle information displays and roadside variable-message signs.  Information on the PTC systems being demonstrated is presented in Section 5.1 .

Activating Passive Crossings                                                                       

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has identified the need for the application of ITS at passive crossings.  Passive crossings are those that provide no warnings other than static signage—the familiar yellow circular sign advising that a crossing is ahead and the traditional X-shaped “Railroad Crossing” crossbuck at the crossing—and, in some cases, pavement markings. 

In general, passive crossings are “passive” because they are low-volume, both for the number of passing trains, and the number of crossing road vehicles.  Each crossing has a low likelihood of becoming a crash site.  However, collectively, passive crossings account for over half of overall grade crossing crashes and fatalities.  While the number of passive crossings has gradually been declining, there are still over 90,000 on public roads.  The long-range approach to achieving safety at passive crossings, as envisioned by NTSB and others, may not involve any technology at all at the crossing itself.