Train length questioned at congressional hearing on rail crossing safety

By Julie Sneider, Senior Editor 

The House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a hearing yesterday on grade crossing elimination and safety. But subcommittee members and witnesses raised numerous other safety issues — including the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment of a Norfolk Southern Railway hazmat train in East Palestine, Ohio — and whether Congress should pass additional regulations with the goal of reducing train-related derailments, accidents and fatalities. 

Testifying at the hearing were Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose; National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy; Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies; and Michael Smith, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation. 

Subcommittee Chairman Troy Nehls (R-Texas) opened the proceedings by noting that there are 212,000 grade crossings in the United States, and in 2022, there were over 2,000 at accidents at crossings. Nehls also said Congress has increased resources for states and communities to eliminate crossings and improve rail safety. For example, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) created the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) program. In June 2023, the FRA issued the inaugural round of RCE program grants when it awarded $570 million to 32 states for 63 projects. The funding will address more than 400 crossings to make it easier to get around railroad tracks by adding grade separations, closing crossings and improving existing crossings. 

The IIJA called for the RCE to total $3 billion over five years, or about $600 million per year.  

“We should be clear upfront that the safest treatment for any grade crossing is its elimination.” — Jennifer Homendy National Transportation Safety Board

“It is expected that FRA will announce a notice of funding opportunity soon seeking applications for more grade crossing improvement projects,” Nehls said. “We must ensure this process is transparent, easy to navigate, and that the money is accessible for all communities. It is my hope that the FRA will work with Congress to achieve these goals while properly overseeing this new grant program.” 

Although yesterday’s hearing focused on the safety problems at crossings, witnesses and lawmakers noted that rail transportation is safer today than it was years ago, and that freight moved by rail is safer than freight moved by truck. 

“I believe it is important, as we have this discussion today, that we keep in mind that rail passenger and freight transportation in the United States is far safer, more fuel efficient and produces lower emissions than road transportation,” Homendy testified. “I would never want to see that traffic shift away from railways to roadways. It is the opposite we should all strive for: shifting passenger and freight transportation from our deadly roadways to far safer modes of transportation, like rail.” 

Still, the goal should be zero fatalities on the nation’s rail system, she said. 

In 2022, 272 people were killed in collisions at crossings, according to Homendy. The rate of crossing collisions has increased over the past decade, from 2.811 per million train miles in 2013 to 3.758 per million train miles in 2022.  

“This represents the overwhelming majority of rail fatalities in the United States, and we are grateful that Congress included several provisions in the IIJA to address grade-crossing and trespasser safety,” she said. 

The NTSB has issued many recommendations aimed at improving the safety of motorists and train occupants at crossings. Its investigations have identified many recurring safety issues, including the need for grade separations at high-risk locations; better signage and more warning devices at many crossings; the need for advanced technology solutions at crossings; and greater participation in Operation Lifesaver public awareness and education campaigns. 

“We should be clear upfront that the safest treatment for any grade crossing is its elimination,” said Homendy. “Building an overpass or underpass and eliminating the shared space between trains and automobiles is the surest way to reduce the possibility of deadly interaction.” 

“In many cases, blockages occur at crossings near customer or rail facilities that were originally built in isolated areas.” — Ian Jefferies Association of American Railroads

Several committee members said running longer freight trains in recent years is making communities less safe.

“As trains increase in length, they block crossings nationwide,” said U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), a subcommittee ranking member. “Last year, this committee saw footage from Hammond, Indiana, of school children forced to crawl under parked freight trains to get to school. It was shocking.” 

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the subcommittee’s other ranking member, said there were 22,000 reports of blocked crossings last year, most due to parked trains. Blocked crossings pose safety risks, such as preventing first responders from getting across train tracks, he said.

“At least 37 states — including Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana and South Dakota — have passed laws prohibiting stopped trains from blocking crossings, but railroads have fought state efforts in court,” said Larsen. “The problem is, including for communities in my district, there are no federal requirements” that limit train length. 

FRA Administrator Bose said his agency has been collecting data on train length and expects to issue a report this year. Additionally, the FRA is working with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on a study of freight trains longer than 7,500 feet that operated from September 2022 to June 2024. The ad hoc committee will examine train dynamics and handling, braking, distributive power, communications and training, as well as impacts on labor and crew requirements, highway-rail crossings, passenger rail operations and air quality. 

“As trains increase in length, they block crossings nationwide.” — U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) twitter.com/RepDonaldPayne

Regarding blocked crossings, Bose said the FRA works with the railroads, states and local governments to promote crossing safety. That work is data driven. For example, when communities in Birmingham, Alabama, Hammond, Indiana, and Houston, Texas, reported high numbers of blocked crossings to the FRA’s Public Blocked Crossing Incident Reporter, the agency engaged with those cities to show that a combination of technology, changes to railroad operations and public outreach can reduce the impacts of blocked crossings, he said. 

“FRA received 30,749 blocked crossing reports submitted to FRA’s public complaint portal identifying 22,473 blocked highway-rail grade crossing events,” Bose told the committee. “In 2022, the top five states by number of blocked crossing reports submitted were Texas with 6,508 (21%), Ohio 3,575 (12%); Illinois 2,952 (10%); Indiana 2,533 (8%); and Tennessee 1,483 (5%).” 

AAR’s Jefferies said there are many causes of blocked crossings. 

“Some result from rail operating practices, including trains servicing rail customer facilities near a crossing, congestion on tracks ahead or in a nearby rail yard, or mandatory safety tests or crew changes,” he said. “In many cases, blockages occur at crossings near customer or rail facilities that were originally built in isolated areas, but because of community expansion, now find themselves adjacent to roadways or developed areas.” 

In some cases, railroads have no control over why a crossing is blocked, including weather events, accidents or incidents on nearby tracks. 

“When these unpredictable events occur, railroads work very hard to return to normal operations and reduce impacts on nearby communities,” Jefferies said. 

Some committee members questioned Jefferies as to why not one Class I has signed up for the FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System that encourages rail employees to report safety hazards without fear of reprisal. A few weeks after the derailment in East Palestine, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called on the Class Is to enroll in the program. In a March letter to Buttigieg, Jefferies said all Class Is agreed to join.  

“It has been 10-and-a-half months since you sent that letter and not even one of the Class Is has joined the program. What’s the hold up?” Payne asked.  

Jefferies said the railroads’ commitment remains, adding that’s why he sent a follow-up letter to Buttigieg in August 2023 to reiterate that pledge. The railroads have continued to meet with the FRA and unions on the matter. 

“I know it has taken a long time, but the commitment still stands,” said Jefferies. 

Payne responded: “We really need to see some movement on this. It’s good to hear that everyone is willing to go, but if there is no implementation, the words fall on deaf ears.”