North Carolina Railroad partners with university to develop crossing safety program 

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor 

North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) manages a 317-mile rail corridor between Morehead City and Charlotte that is used by Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak trains. 

Like all freight and passenger railroads, safety is crucial to NCRR. The railroad long has worked with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and NS to bolster grade crossing safety on the corridor. 

In April 2024, NCRR launched a track protection program through which the railroad is authorized to provide flagging services at crossings while NS crews perform work along the corridor. Qualified roadway worker-in-charge personnel and flaggers help ensure safety and coordination during construction, repair and maintenance projects. The workers are experienced Class I and II railroad industry veterans who are trained as flaggers. 

Now, NCRR is poised to raise the crossing safety stakes a bit higher after establishing a public-private partnership with NC State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) and landing a $3 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Railroad Crossing Elimination program. 

The railroad and ITRE are using the proceeds — the first FRA education grant of its kind — to establish the Rail Technical Assistance Program (RailTAP) at the university. The new training and education initiative is designed to help improve safety and reduce accidents at crossings.  

The university’s current local technical assistance program — which is called NC LTAP — helps educate enrollees about road maintenance, traffic control and safety procedures. NC State University

RailTAP will target collisions, injuries and other potential crossing risks by educating the public and workers about crossing hazards, promoting safety practices and providing localized training to first responders and others who deal with crossings. NCRR will provide a federally required 20% funding match for the program. 

In mid-2024, the railroad approached NC State about developing a crossing safety program, says NCRR Chief Commercial Officer Trish Haver. There was a noticeable safety gap before the railroad launched the track protection program last year since there wasn’t a formal crossing protection process in place, she says. The program will help the state by improving rail safety and boosting the efficiency of crossing protection. 

“We are always thinking about safety. We prioritize safety,” says Haver, who recently was named one of 50 “Women of Influence in Rail” by Progressive Railroading.  

RailTAP also will help expand NCRR’s own safety-enhancement efforts. Since the corridor is very active with freight- and passenger-rail traffic — more than 70 NS trains and about eight Amtrak trains use the route each day — there are a high number of crossing incidents that occur each year. North Carolina ranks as the 14th-highest state in terms of the number of crossing accidents and incidents logged annually, says Haver. 

“We want to create safety awareness and prevent crossing collisions in the state,” she says. 

Currently, NCRR is developing the RailTAP curriculum. A RailTAP steering committee is helping to guide the development of training and awareness courses and shaping strategies to improve rail safety. 

NC State and ITRE are excited to partner with NCRR to create and launch RailTAP, says Daniel Findley, IRTE’s associate director. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, NC State is the largest university in the Carolinas. 

RailTAP will be a useful and logical addition to the university’s existing local technical assistance programs (LTAPs) administered at ITRE: NC LTAP and NC AirTAP, which help educate road maintenance and airport professionals across the state, says Findley. 

“RailTAP aligns with our strengths — it’s in our wheelhouse,” he says. “We see all the components of rail crossing safety pulled together by this.” 

The university’s research on rail trespassing and crossing safety has shown there are significant challenges and opportunities in making crossings safer, he says. NC State currently is trying to recruit more trainers to staff RailTAP. 

NCRR and ITRE expect to launch the program in late summer before the fall semester begins at NC State. The length of the training course will depend on an individual’s level of expertise and the type of education they need. 

Although RailTAP hasn’t started yet, interest in the program already is growing, says Haver. 

“Since the grant was announced [in January], we have had four organizations contact us about it,” she says.