1 

Grade Crossing Safety and

Railroad Trespass Prevention Workshop

January 30 – February 1, 2024

Rutgers University

Livingston Student Center – Livingston Hall 

84 Joyce Kilmer Avenue

Piscataway, NJ 08854

Workshop Goals – One goal is to identify existing and emerging technology designed and used to mitigate, reduce, and ultimately 

eliminate highway-rail grade crossing and trespasser incidents. Other goals are to raise awareness of the dangers and effects of 

highway-rail grade crossing and trespasser incidents, to seek out low-cost solutions, and to discuss practicable ideas for 

technological improvements for vehicular and pedestrian safety at highway-rail grade crossings.

Day 1 

Time Focus Speakers

7:00 AM–5:00 PM Registration Rutgers University Livingston Student 

Center Auditorium Foyer

8:00 AM–9:00 AM Welcome and Introductions

• Safety briefing

• Agenda, goals, introductions

• Welcoming remarks

Monica Shaw, Transportation 

Specialist – Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) 

James Payne, Staff Director – Federal 

Railroad Administration

Amitabha Bose, Administrator – 

Federal Railroad Administration

Barbara Foran, Diagnostic Team 

Leader – NJDOT

Parth Oza, Assistant Commissioner – 

Capital Program Management

9:00 AM–10:30 AM Overview of Railroad Incidents

FRA 

• Overview of railroad incident data analysis 

• Data analysis of railroad incidents in the New 

Jersey/New York Area

New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)

• Local grade crossing and trespassing updates

North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)

• Reduction in railroad trespassing incidents

• Comprehensive cost of rail incidents

Moderator: Michail Grizkewitsch –

FRA

Chip Greiner, Railroad Safety Inspector 

– FRA

Gregory Spiritosanto, Supervising 

Engineer – NJDOT

Roger Smock, Rail Safety Consultant, 

Rail Division – NCDOT

10:30 AM–10:45 AM Break

10:45 AM–12:00 PM Grade Crossing and Railroad Trespassing Treatments and Tools 

FRA 

• Low-cost treatments (grade crossing and trespassing)

• Trespassing and Suicide Prevention Toolkit

Artificial Intelligence-Aided Trespassing Detection and 

Analytics

• An artificial intelligence-aided system for detecting 

grade crossing violations and ROW trespassing

Moderator: Francesco Bedini Jacobini, 

Program Manager – FRA

Marco daSilva, Mechanical Engineer – 

Volpe Center

Asim Zaman, P.E., Project Engineer II – 

Rutgers University
2 

Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)

• LIRR high intensity fencing program 

Karl Meyer, Director – Safety 

Operations, Corporate Safety 

Department, MTA/LIRR

John Kay, Senior Safety Officer – 

MTA/LIRR

12:00 PM–1:00 PM Lunch

1:00 PM–2:30 PM Community and Public Outreach Engagement 

New Jersey Operation Lifesaver

• Overview of railroad trespassing educational and 

prevention strategies 

Norfolk Southern (NS) Railroad Police

• Rail Investigations and Safety Course

FRA 

• Overview of blocked grade crossings program

Long Island Rail Road/MTA

• Reflective Delineator Program 

• Waze app to prevent drivers from turning down the 

railroad tracks off grade crossings

Glen Rock, New Jersey Police Department

• Overview of the Community Outreach Program that 

addressed railroad trespassing issues 

Moderator: Colby Scott, Railroad 

Safety Inspector – FRA 

Barbara Foran, State Coordinator – NJ 

Operation Lifesaver 

Thomas Jedic, Special Agent – Norfolk 

Southern

Ryan Jones, Railroad Safety Inspector – 

FRA

Karl Meyer, MTA/LIRR

Dean Ackermann, Chief – Glen Rock, 

NJ Police Department

2:30 PM–2:40 PM Break

2:40 PM–4:30 PM Innovation 

Strategic Safety Planning and Design

• Considerations for crossing safety design and 

collaboration

• Organizing a diagnostic team

FRA/NJDOT/Rutgers University

• Grade crossing treatments

Safe House

• One App, Any Crisis

Moderator: Norma Griffiths, Railroad

Safety Inspector – FRA

Rick Campbell, Senior Technical 

Manager – Alfred Benesch & Company

Lou Frangella, Supervisory Railroad 

Safety Specialist – FRA 

Asim Zaman – Rutgers University

Eric Souders, Senior Engineer – NJDOT

Eliza Conley-Lepene, Founder, CEO, 

President – Safe House

4:30 PM–5:00 PM Wrap-Up and Next Steps 

• Feedback on discussions

• Day 2 session overview

Monica Shaw and Michail 

Grizkewitsch – FRA

Francesco Bedini Jacobini – FRA

Day 2 

Time Focus Speakers

7:00 AM–4:30 PM Registration Rutgers University Livingston Student 

Center Auditorium Foyer

8:00 AM–8:30 AM Welcome and Introductions

• Safety briefing

• Agenda, goals, introductions

• Welcoming remarks

Monica Shaw – FRA

Michail Grizkewitsch – FRA

Debra Chappell, Deputy Staff Director

– FRA

8:30 AM–10:00 AM Developing a Safe System Approach

Federal Railroad Administration

• Digitizing Grade Crossings

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• Vehicle crashes on highway segments with a rail grade 

crossing: insights into the key risk factors in North 

Carolina

Pedestrian Considerations

Moderator: Lou Frangella – FRA

Francesco Bedini Jacobini, Program 

Manager – FRA

Srinivas Pulugurtha, Professor of Civil 

Engineering – UNC Charlotte

Rick Campbell – Alfred Benesch & 

Company

R. Michael White, President – 

Dirigo Spatial Systems, Inc.
3 

• Review of pedestrian issues at grade crossings 

Rutgers University Externship Program 

• Classifying and quantifying visual distractions at grade 

crossings

10:00 AM–10:15 AM Break

10:15 AM–12:00 AM Emergency Services Outreach

FRA

• Review of Law Enforcement Grant Program

MTA Police 

• Overview of Metro-North Right-of-Way Task Force

Greensboro, North Carolina Railroad Trespassing Task Force

• How to create a successful trespassing enforcement 

task force

AskRail

• First responders’ accurate, timely data about what type 

of hazardous materials a railcar is carrying

Moderator: Chip Greiner – FRA

Michail Grizkewitsch – FRA

Charles Pisanelli, Commander – MTA 

Police Department

Jason Richmond, Security Manager – 

Metro-North Security

Jason Warren, Detective – 

Greensboro Police Department

Andy Elkins, Director of Hazmat 

Compliance – Association of American 

Railroads

12:00 PM–1:00 PM Lunch 

1:00 PM–3:30 PM Grade Crossing and Trespassing Round Table 

MUTCD Update 

FRA/Volpe Center

• Engineering versus enforcement

• Media and awareness

• Predictability and risk

• Trespassing issues

• Mitigation plans

• Next steps

Moderator: Francesco Bedini 

Jacobini – FRA

Debra Chappell, Deputy Staff Director

– FRA 

Esther Strawder, Program Manager, 

FHWA 

Dr. Shala Blue, Engineering 

Psychologist – FRA

Scott Gabree – Volpe Center

Marco daSilva – Volpe Center

3:30 PM–3:45 PM Break

3:45 PM–4:30 PM • Feedback on discussions

• Day 3 session overview

Workshop Staff

Day 3 

Time Focus Speakers

7:00 AM–12:30 PM Registration Rutgers University Livingston Student 

Center Auditorium Foyer

8:00 AM–8:30 AM Welcome and Introductions

• Safety briefing

• Agenda, goals, introductions

• Welcoming remarks

Monica Shaw – FRA

Michail Grizkewitsch – FRA

8:30 AM–10:30 AM Grade Crossing & Trespassing Suicide Prevention

FRA/Volpe Center

• Suicide prevention

Metra (Chicago, Illinois) 

• Commuter railroad and suicide prevention perspective

Brightline (Florida)

• Trespassing and suicide prevention efforts along the 

Brightline Corridor

Metro-North/MTA

• Overview of Metro-North's safety education and 

community outreach program, TRACKS (Together 

Railroads and Communities Keeping Safe)

Moderator: Dr. Shala Blue – FRA

Scott Gabree – Volpe Center

Hilary Konczal, Chief Safety and

Environmental Officer – Metra

Joe Meade, Director of Safety – 

Brightline

Shelley Prettyman, Vice President 

System Safety – Metro-North Railroad

Jami Spordone, Deputy Director 

Safety Analytics and Initiatives – 

Metro-North Railroad

10:30 AM–10:45 AM Break
4 

10:45 AM–12:00 PM Funding Solutions 

• FRA Office of Civil Rights

FHWA

• Section 130 Funding Solutions

FRA

• Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety 

Improvements (CRISI) grants

• Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) grants

Monica Shaw and Michail 

Grizkewitsch – FRA

Felipe Toro, Equal Opportunity 

Specialist – FRA

Hugo Vives, Equal Opportunity 

Specialist – FRA

Esther Strawder, Program Manager - 

FHWA

Matthew Lorah, Supervisory Grants 

Management Specialist – FRA

Elena Gonzalez, Grants Management

Analyst – FRA

12:00 PM–12:30 PM Closing

• Recap and next steps

Workshop Staff