I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6223 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to address blocked crossings, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2020 
Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself, Mr. COOPER, and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to address blocked 
crossings, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Don’t BLock Our 
Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘D-BLOC Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Transportation. 
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(2) CROSSING.—The term ‘‘crossing’’ has the 
meaning given the term under section 20160 of title 
49, United States Code. 
(3) BLOCKED CROSSING.—The term ‘‘blocked 
crossing’’ means a circumstance in which a train, 
railroad car, or locomotive engine is stopped or is 
standing in a manner that obstructs public travel at 
a crossing. 
(4) 
COMMUTER
AUTHORITIES.—The 
term 
‘‘commuter authorities’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 24102 of title 49, United States 
Code. 
SEC. 3. COLLECTION OF DATA ON BLOCKED CROSSINGS 
AND INCORPORATION INTO THE NATIONAL 
HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING INVENTORY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20160 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 20160. National crossing inventory and blocked 
crossings 
‘‘(a) INITIAL REPORTING OF INFORMATION ABOUT 
PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED CROSSINGS.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Im-
provement Act of 2008 or 6 months after a new crossing 
becomes operational, whichever occurs later, each railroad 
carrier shall— 
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‘‘(1) report to the Secretary of Transportation 
current information, including information about 
warning devices and signage, as specified by the Sec-
retary, concerning each previously unreported cross-
ing through which it operates with respect to the 
trackage over which it operates; or 
‘‘(2) ensure that the information has been re-
ported to the Secretary by another railroad carrier 
that operates through the crossing. 
‘‘(b) UPDATING OF CROSSING INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) MONTHLY BASIS.—On a monthly period 
beginning not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of the Don’t BLock Our Communities Act, 
each railroad carrier shall report to the Secretary in-
formation concerning each crossing through which it 
operates with respect to the trackage over which it 
operates, including— 
‘‘(A) with respect to warning devices— 
‘‘(i) the type of crossing warning de-
vice; 
‘‘(ii) the total number of crossing acti-
vations; 
‘‘(iii) whether any active warning de-
vices, including gates or flashing light sig-
nals, are functioning properly; 
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‘‘(iv) the timing of any repairs if such 
active warning devices are not functioning 
properly; and 
‘‘(v) if a repair has been made, the 
timing of when the active warning device 
was discovered to not function properly 
and when the repair was made; 
‘‘(B) with respect to any crossing blocked 
for more than 10 minutes— 
‘‘(i) the location of the blocked cross-
ing, including the Department of Trans-
portation crossing identification and inven-
tory numbers; 
‘‘(ii) the date of the blocked crossing; 
‘‘(iii) the time when the crossing was 
blocked; 
‘‘(iv) the duration of the blockage (in 
minutes); 
‘‘(v) the cause for the blockage; 
‘‘(vi) the direction of the train; 
‘‘(vii) the length of the train, amount 
of cars in the train consist, and makeup of 
consist; 
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‘‘(viii) whether a train was cut for 
each blockage and if not, the reason it was 
not cut; and 
‘‘(ix) train number, symbol, or other 
information as needed to identify the train; 
and 
‘‘(C) the status of operating protocols with 
any other railroad carrier whose operation could 
cause interference with that railroad carrier’s 
operation. 
‘‘(2) MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS.—A rail-
road carrier may meet the requirements of para-
graph (1) by ensuring that the information has been 
reported to the Secretary by another railroad carrier 
that operates through the crossing. 
‘‘(3) BLOCKED
CROSSING
DATA
FORM.—The 
Secretary shall develop and require railroad carriers 
to use a separate blocked crossing data form when 
reporting the data required under subparagraph (B) 
of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) WORKER PARTICIPATION.—Each railroad 
carrier shall check with the relevant railroad work-
ers, including signalmen, conductors, and engineers 
to ensure the information reported under paragraph 
(1) is accurate. 
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‘‘(5) AUDITING.—The Secretary may periodi-
cally audit the reports each railroad carrier submits 
under paragraph (1) to ensure their accuracy. The 
Secretary shall have the authority to require any 
corrective action with respect to the information sub-
mitted if it finds the information submitted is inac-
curate or false. 
‘‘(6) SELLING A CROSSING.—A railroad carrier 
that sells a crossing or any part of a crossing on or 
after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Im-
provement Act of 2008 shall, not later than the date 
that is 18 months after the date of enactment of 
such Act or 3 months after the sale, whichever oc-
curs later, or as otherwise specified by the Secretary, 
report to the Secretary current information, as spec-
ified by the Secretary, concerning the change in 
ownership of the crossing or part of the crossing. 
‘‘(c) INCORPORATION
OF DATA INTO NATIONAL 
HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING INVENTORY.— 
‘‘(1) INCORPORATION.—The Secretary shall on 
a quarterly basis incorporate the data collected on 
the blocked crossing data form developed under sub-
section (b)(3) into the national highway-rail crossing 
inventory. 
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relevant data from such inventory to the new 
blocked crossing data file to effectively carry out this 
section. 
‘‘(d) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 
prescribe the regulations necessary to implement this sec-
tion. The Secretary may enforce each provision of the De-
partment of Transportation’s statement of the national 
highway-rail crossing inventory policy, procedures, and in-
struction for States and railroads that was in effect on 
the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act 
of 2008 and not superseded by the Don’t BLock Our 
Communities Act or a regulation issued under this section. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and in sections 
20169 and 20170: 
‘‘(1) CROSSING.—The term ‘crossing’ means a 
location within a State, other than a location where 
one or more railroad tracks cross one or more rail-
road tracks either at grade or grade-separated, 
where— 
‘‘(A) a public highway, road, or street, or 
a private roadway, including associated side-
walks and pathways, crosses one or more rail-
road tracks either at grade or grade-separated; 
or 
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‘‘(B) a pathway explicitly authorized by a 
public authority or a railroad carrier that is 
dedicated for the use of nonvehicular traffic, in-
cluding pedestrians, bicyclists, and others, that 
is not associated with a public highway, road, 
or street, or a private roadway, crosses one or 
more railroad tracks either at grade or grade- 
separated. 
‘‘(2) BLOCKED CROSSING.—The term ‘blocked 
crossing’ means a circumstance in which a train, 
railroad car, or engine is stopped or is standing in 
a manner that obstructs public travel at a crossing. 
‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State 
of the United States, the District of Columbia, or 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents for chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by striking the item relating to section 20160 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘20160. National crossing inventory and blocked crossings.’’. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF 10-MINUTE TIME LIMIT FOR 
BLOCKING PUBLIC GRADE CROSSINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 201 of title 49, United 
States Code, is further amended by adding at the end of 
subchapter II the following: 
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‘‘§ 20169. Time limit for blocking a rail crossing 
‘‘(a) TIME LIMIT.—A train, locomotive, railroad car, 
or other rail equipment is prohibited from blocking a 
crossing in excess of 10 minutes, unless the train, loco-
motive, or other equipment is directly delayed by— 
‘‘(1) a casualty or serious injury; 
‘‘(2) an accident; 
‘‘(3) a track obstruction; 
‘‘(4) an act of God; or 
‘‘(5) a derailment or a major equipment failure 
that prevents the train from advancing. 
‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTY AUTHORITY
FOR
THE SEC-
RETARY.—The Secretary may issue civil penalties for vio-
lations of subsection (a) for each incident where a crossing 
is blocked by a standing train, locomotive, or rail equip-
ment in accordance with the following: 
‘‘(1) The minimum civil penalty for blocking a 
crossing for over 10 minutes shall be $1,000. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall establish additional, 
escalating time intervals and escalating minimum 
civil penalties for blocked crossing violations in ex-
cess of 10 minutes. 
‘‘(3) The maximum civil penalty for a single 
violation under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be 
$10,000. 
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‘‘(4) The Secretary shall have the discretion, 
pursuant to section 5 of this Act, to levy additional 
civil penalties or countermeasures for persistent or 
egregious instances of blocked crossings. 
‘‘(c) DELEGATION.—The Secretary may delegate en-
forcement actions under subsection (b) to States either 
through a State inspector certified State by the Federal 
Railroad Administration, or other law enforcement offi-
cials as designated by the States and approved by the Ad-
ministration. The Secretary shall issue guidance or regula-
tions not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of the D-BLOC Act on the criteria and process for law 
enforcement officials to gain approval under this section. 
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall report 
annually to Congress on civil penalties issued pursuant to 
this section. The Secretary may collect such information 
as needed from the States to issue the report under this 
section. The report shall include— 
‘‘(1) the rail operator in violation; 
‘‘(2) the reason a fine was issued; 
‘‘(3) the amount fined; and 
‘‘(4) the location and Department of Transpor-
tation grade crossing number where the violation oc-
curred. 
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‘‘(e) APPLICATION
TO AMTRAK
AND COMMUTER 
RAILROADS.—This section shall not apply to Amtrak or 
commuter authorities, including Amtrak and commuter 
authorities’ operations run or dispatched by a Class I rail-
road.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘20169. Time limit for blocking a rail crossing.’’. 
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF A PROCESS FOR OVERSEEING 
RAILROADS THAT EGREGIOUSLY OR PER-
SISTENTLY BLOCK CROSSINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 201 of title 49, United 
States Code, is further amended by adding at the end of 
subchapter II the following: 
‘‘§ 20170. Process to address egregiously or persist-
ently blocked crossings 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 1 year after the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue regula-
tions defining what is considered— 
‘‘(1) persistently blocking a crossing; and 
‘‘(2) egregiously blocking a crossing. 
‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the regulations 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into consid-
eration— 
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