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TITLE III—GRADE CROSSING
SAFETY
SEC. 301. EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION OF GRADE CROSSING
PROBLEMS.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
‘‘§ 20152. Emergency notification of grade crossing
problems
‘‘(a) PILOT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall conduct a pilot program to demonstrate an
emergency notification system utilizing a toll free telephone
number that the public can use to convey to railroad car-
riers, either directly or through public safety personnel, in-
formation about malfunctions or other safety problems at
railroad-highway grade crossings. The pilot program, at a
minimum—
‘‘(1) shall include railroad-highway grade cross-
ings in at least 2 States;
‘‘(2) shall include provisions for public education
and awareness of the program; and
‘‘(3) shall require information to be posted at the
railroad-highway grade crossing describing the emer-
gency notification system and instructions on how to
use the system.
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The Secretary may, by grant, provide funding for the ex-
pense of information signs and public awareness campaigns
necessary to demonstrate the notification system.
‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall complete the pilot
program not later than 24 months after the date of enact-
ment of this section, and shall submit to the Congress not
later than 30 months after that date an evaluation of the
pilot program, together with findings as to the effectiveness
of such emergency notification systems. The report shall
compare and contrast the structure, cost, and effectiveness
of the pilot program with other emergency notification sys-
tems in effect within other States. Such evaluation shall in-
clude analyses of the safety benefits derived from the pro-
grams, cost effectiveness, and the burdens on participants,
including railroad carriers and law enforcement person-
nel.’’.
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of
sections for subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new item:
‘‘20152. Emergency notification of grade crossing problems.’’.
SEC. 302. AUDIBLE WARNINGS AT HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE
CROSSINGS.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
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‘‘§ 20153. Audible warnings at highway-rail grade
crossings
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘‘highway-rail grade crossing’’ in-
cludes any street or highway crossing over a line of
railroad at grade;
‘‘(2) the term ‘‘locomotive horn’’ refers to a
train-borne audible warning device meeting standards
specified by the Secretary of Transportation; and
‘‘(3) the term ‘‘supplementary safety measure’’
refers to a safety system or procedure, provided by the
appropriate traffic control authority or law enforce-
ment authority responsible for safety at the highway-
rail grade crossing, that is determined by the Sec-
retary to be an effective substitute for the locomotive
horn in the prevention of highway-rail casualties. A
traffic control arrangement that prevents careless
movement over the crossing (e.g., as where adequate
median barriers prevent movement around crossing
gates extending over the full width of the lanes in the
particular direction of travel), and that conforms to
standards prescribed by the Secretary under this sub-
section, shall be deemed to constitute a supplementary
safety measure. The following do not, individually or
in combination, constitute supplementary safety
measures within the meaning of this subsection:
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standard traffic control devices or arrangements such
as reflectorized crossbucks, stop signs, flashing lights,
flashing lights with gates that do not completely block
travel over the line of railroad, or traffic signals.
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall prescribe regulations requiring that a loco-
motive horn shall be sounded while each train is approach-
ing and entering upon each public highway-rail grade
crossing.
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—(1) In issuing such regulations, the
Secretary may except from the requirement to sound the
locomotive horn any categories of rail operations or cat-
egories of highway-rail grade crossings (by train speed or
other factors specified by regulation)—
‘‘(A) that the Secretary determines not to present
a significant risk with respect to loss of life or serious
personal injury;
‘‘(B) for which use of the locomotive horn as a
warning measure is impractical; or
‘‘(C) for which, in the judgment of the Secretary,
supplementary safety measures fully compensate for
the absence of the warning provided by the locomotive
horn.
‘‘(2) In order to provide for safety and the quiet of
communities affected by train operations, the Secretary
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may specify in such regulations that any supplementary
safety measures must be applied to all highway-rail grade
crossings within a specified distance along the railroad in
order to be excepted from the requirement of this section.
‘‘(d) APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OR EXEMPTION.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the
Secretary may not entertain an application for waiver or
exemption of the regulations issued under this section unless
such application shall have been submitted jointly by the
railroad carrier owning, or controlling operations over, the
crossing and by the appropriate traffic control authority
or law enforcement authority. The Secretary shall not grant
any such application unless, in the judgment of the Sec-
retary, the application demonstrates that the safety of high-
way users will not be diminished.
‘‘(e) DEVELOPMENT
OF
SUPPLEMENTARY
SAFETY
MEASURES.—(1) In order to promote the quiet of commu-
nities affected by rail operations and the development of
innovative safety measures at highway-rail grade crossings,
the Secretary may, in connection with demonstration of
proposed new supplementary safety measures, order rail-
road carriers operating over one or more crossings to cease
temporarily the sounding of locomotive horns at such cross-
ings. Any such measures shall have been subject to testing
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and evaluation and deemed necessary by the Secretary
prior to actual use in lieu of the locomotive horn.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may include in regulations issued
under this subsection special procedures for approval of new
supplementary safety measures meeting the requirements of
subsection (c)(1) of this section following successful dem-
onstration of those measures.
‘‘(f) SPECIFIC RULES.—The Secretary may, by regula-
tion, provide that the following crossings over railroad lines
shall be subject, in whole or in part, to the regulations re-
quired under this section:
‘‘(1) Private highway-rail grade crossings.
‘‘(2) Pedestrian crossings.
‘‘(3) Crossings utilized primarily by non-
motorized vehicles and other special vehicles.
Regulations issued under this subsection shall not apply to
any location where persons are not authorized to cross the
railroad.
‘‘(g) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary shall issue regulations
required by this section pertaining to categories of highway-
rail grade crossings that in the judgment of the Secretary
pose the greatest safety hazard to rail and highway users
not later than 24 months following the date of enactment
of this section. The Secretary shall issue regulations per-