Can low-cost crossings do the job?

Railway Age, August, 2000 by Tom Judge

For thousands of crossings, railroads have to find a way to provide safe passage for trains and the public without draining the budget.

Every day, millions of vehicles roll across railroad crossings without a single incident, but a minuscule percentage wind up colliding with trains, resulting in serious injury or death. How can you eliminate that small percentage? No one knows any sure-fire method outside of eliminating grade crossings altogether. Since that doesn't appear to be in the cards, how can grade crossings be made safer without soaking up an inordinate amount of the operating budget?

One inexpensive tool now being proposed is the familiar octagonal sign with "Stop" printed on it. The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. is well along in a project to have a Stop sign covering every one of its passive crossings, that is, those with only crossbucks.

"I've been in the railroad industry since 1988, when I purchased the Wisconsin & Southern," says William E. Gardner, president and CEO. "During that 12-year period, there have been some ugly accidents. Although not the fault of the crew, the insurance company I deal with pays out large dollar amounts, then raises my premiums. I was being penalized because juries perceive that railroads always have very deep pockets."

With the addition of the Wisconsin & Calumet and some additional mileage from Chicago & North Western and CP Rail, W&S grew to around 650 miles of track in Wisconsin.

"When you increase mileage, you also increase the risk of collisions," Gardner says. "We've had some people make some bad choices, bad decisions, that cost them dearly in terms of lives and property. It also isn't good for the crews who have to go back to the scene of the accident after a collision. They're often the first ones on the scene after a train/vehicle collision, before the paramedics or anybody."

"I started campaigning for a program to put Stop signs at passive crossings," Gardner says. "At first some state agencies did not want me to do this. People said it wasn't safe, that it would increase rear-end collisions. My concern was to stop these train/car accidents and to make a safer place for my employees to work."

Within about six months, the National Transportation Safety Board heard about the program. NTSB called Gardner and told him they had just completed a major report on why passive crossings needed Stop signs to decrease collisions.

"Jim Hall, the president of NTSB sent me a letter," Gardner says. "He also sent one to Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson saying that NTSB commends Bill Gardner for trying to make his crossings safe. NTSB asked the governor to support this program. I started going around to the counties and municipalities saying 'Look, this is a good program. Jim Hall, president of NTSB says it's a good program. He sent a letter to Governor Thompson saying it's a good program. We're here to prevent collisions. If you people would get up in a locomotive and run down a railroad, you'd see that we really need this.'

"Today, out of every 10 passive crossings we have, seven are equipped with Stop signs. We have yet to have a collision at a crossing with a Stop sign. The crews have also noticed a big decrease in near-collisions. People now come down the road, stop at the crossing, then look both ways to see if a train is coming. Before, they'd just buzz right through. We hope to have all of our passive crossings covered with Stop signs within the next 12 months."

Of 451 passive crossings on W&S, 325 are now covered by Stop signs, 72% coverage.

"In some areas, people put the signs up after we talk to them on the phone and send them the NTSB information and the letter to the governor, Gardner says. "I've personally attended lots of county board meetings and local township meetings, usually armed with digital photos to show potential dangers at crossings. Most of the time, they have passed a resolution to put up the signs. This requires them to put up an advance 'Stop Ahead' sign. Then, the Stop sign is placed either directly on the crossbuck or on a separate pole next to it. We've stated we'll pay for the materials and they only have to supply the labor. Out of all the municipalities and counties, I've only had one so far send me a bill, and that was for just over $100."

Gardner has been urging other railroads to adopt a similar program. "It's a good program, but no one is really taking action now to get it done on the other railroads," he says.

Median dividers

Median barriers, which prevent vehicles from swinging into oncoming-traffic lanes to go around lowered crossing gates, are another relatively inexpensive solution.

QWICK KURB[R], Inc., recently installed its system in Cortland, Ill., near DeKalb, to create the first Quiet Zone (no whistle blowing) in the state. Because ERA rules are not finalized, the zone was designated by the Illinois Commerce Commission. The system, which consists of reflector arcs and air panels, recently was part of a study conducted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. NCDOT found the devices reduced gate running by 77%.