Lawmakers reintroduce proposed grade crossing safety act

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, have reintroduced the Warren Cowles Grade Crossing Safety Act.

The bill that would modify an existing rail safety grant program and increase federal funding for crossing improvement projects to $250 million each year, adjusted for inflation.

This legislation is named in honor of Warren Cowles, a department of public works foreman for the town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, who was fatally struck by an Amtrak train in 2017.

The increased funding would help prevent fatalities by supporting the installation of grade separations, crossing signals, gates, lights and other barriers or cautionary signage at crossings nationwide.

The American Public Transportation Association supports the bill because commuter railroads have been trying to mitigate crossing incidents, which often involve unlawful entry to a railroad’s right of way, said Paul Skoutelas, the association’s president and chief executive officer, in a press release.

"These projects can be expensive to construct and establishing a specific source of funding for passenger-rail crossing safety will help our commuter railroads combat this critical safety issue," he said.

A copy of the Warren Cowles Grade Crossing Safety Act can be read here.