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            In This Section
        Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention
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                                Pedestrian/Motorist Resources
                State/Local Government Resources
                Law Enforcement/First Responders Resources
                Grade Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention Research
                Grade Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention Grants
                An In-Depth Look At ...
                                Grade Crossing Safety
                Trespass Prevention
                State Action Plan
                Data Analytics and Tools
                                Crossing Inventory
                GradeDec Crossing Evaluation Tool
                Public Blocked Crossing Incident Reporter
                Trespass & Suicide Prevention Toolkit
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                Train Horn Rule/Quiet Zones
                Animated Grade Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Social Media Campaign
                
                Rail Safety Research & Development
    

    
    
    
      Demonstration Systems

There are a number of **Demonstration Systems currently being developed or are under testing for instance:**

**Michigan ITCS Demonstration**: includes upgrade of 57 public grade crossings to provide constant warning time and improved or eliminated 21 private grade crossings. System linking crossings to locomotives via the positive train control system has been in daily revenue service operation since April 2001.
	The **North Carolina’s Sealed Corridor assessment is another significant project underway, which applies innovative, low cost techniques to significantly reduce or eliminate incidents of highway vehicles bypassing crossing gates, thereby virtually eliminating grade crossing incidents.**Further information about the Sealed Corridor and North Carolina's efforts can be found on the State's web page www.bytrain.org.Other innovative concepts are being sought for integrated demonstration and assessment for efficacy on revenue corridors through the National Academy of Sciences Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program and through broad agency announcements (BAA).

**For more on demonstration systems, evaluation tools and evolving technologies, research and solutions such as t**he use of impenetrable barriers please see e-Library.

GradeDec Crossing Evaluation Tool

The Federal Railroad Administration developed **GradeDec,**a highway-rail grade crossing investment analysis tool, to provide grade crossing investment decision support. **GradeDec**provides a full set of standard benefit cost metrics for a rail corridor, a region, or an individual grade crossing. Model output allows a comparative analysis of grade crossing alternatives that are designed to mitigate highway-rail grade crossing accident risk and other components of user costs including highway delay and queuing, air quality, and vehicle operating costs.  **GradeDec**is intended to assist state and local transportation planners in identifying the most efficient grade crossing investment strategies. The **GradeDec**modeling process can encourage public support for grade crossing strategies, including closure and separation, where project success often depends on getting the community involved in the early planning stages. GradeDec computes model output using a range of values for many of the model inputs. This process allows individual stakeholders to influence how different investment options are weighed and evaluated. **GradeDec**implements the corridor approach to reducing accident risk that was developed as part of TEA-21's Next-Generation High-Speed Rail Program. This approach can be an effective means of reducing the overall capital costs involved in constructing facilities for high-speed passenger rail service (at speeds between 111-125 miles per hour), where grade crossing hazards and mitigation measures can be a major cost factor. The corridor approach can be used to demonstrate that acceptable levels of accident risk have been reached for all rail corridors, train types, and speeds. For example, exceptions to the proposed federal rule mandating whistle sounding at all highway rail-grade crossings can be made by showing that appropriate safety measures have been taken to mitigate the additional risk otherwise presented by trains not sounding their horns. **GradeDec**uses simulation methods to analyze project risk and generate probability ranges for each model output, including benefit cost ratios and net present value. The software also analyzes the sensitivity of project risk to GradeDec 2000 model inputs to inform users which factors have the greatest impact on project risk.

View GradeDec Documentation

User's Manual 2014,
	Reference Manual 2014 or
	Workbook 2003Questions

Questions concerning **GradeDec**should be addressed to:

Karen McClure, Policy Analyst 
Office of Policy and Program Development 
(202) 493-6417karen.mcclure@dot.gov

Helpful Resources

            Expand All
      Collapse All
        **Engineering for Safer Rail Grade Crossings**
        Traffic Control Devices and Measures
	Use of Traffic Channelization Devices at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
	Guidance on the use of Traffic Channelizing Devices at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
	Compilation of Pedestrian Safety Devices in Use at Grade Crossings
	Private Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Research and Inquiry Vol. I
	Private Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Research and Inquiry Vol. II
	Effects of Gate Skirts on Pedestrian Behavior at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
  


      **Regulations**
        e-CFR part 222- Use of Locomotive Horns at Public Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
	e-CFR part 229 - Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards
	e-CFR 234 Subpart E- Emergency Notification Systems for Telephonic Reporting of Unsafe Conditions at Highway-Rail and Pathway Grade Crossings
	eCFR 234 Subpart F- Highway-Rail and Pathway Crossing Inventory Reporting
  


      **Archives**
        Rail-Highway Crossing Resource Allocation Procedure (August 1987)
	US DOT National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory - Policy, Procedures and Instructions For States and Railroads
	Federal Register Notice, Vo. 80, No. 3. January 6, 2015: 46 CFR 234 Subpart F- Regulation  National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory Reporting Requirements
	Train Horn Rule Record of Decision
	Wayside Horns Report
	The Effect of Installation Location on Railroad Horn Sound Levels
	Adjustment of Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold
	Pilot Programs for Emergency Notification Systems at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings - A Report to Congress
	Rail Trespasser Fatalities Demographic and Behavioral Profiles, March 2008
	Infrastructure Trespass Detection Performance Guidelines Report
	Relevant RSIA - Telephonic Notification of Unsafe Conditions at Grade Crossings
	Driver Behavior at Highway-Rail Crossings - A literature Review from 1990-2006
	An Application of Signal Detection Theory for Understanding Driver Behavior at Highway-rail Crossings
	School Bus Safety Alert
	Truck Driver Safety Alert/Visor Card
	Normalizing Constants for the Accident Prediction Model - September - 2010
	Intelligent Grade Crossings
  


      **State and Local Government Resources**
        Federal Highway Administration Railway-Highway Crossing Program (Section 130)
	Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook - Revised Second Edition
	GradeDec Crossing Evaluation Tool
	Funding Availability-FAST Act

    
          Last updated: Sunday, November 17, 2019 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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