The last report to Congress on rail-highway crossing safety was in 1971-72. Since then, several actions and changes have occurred. These are discussed in the Executive Summary which is included in this report. This discussion is followed by 8 chapters. The final chapter summarizes the findings of this study on each of nine identified issues, as well as other issues identified during the course of the study.
The objective of the study is to assist in the development of a long-range plan to provide direction and guidance for the investment in and implementation of rail-highway crossing improvements on Iowa's main line rail system.
This bibliography, an update of the 1976 Bibliography 57, contains 48 new entries chosen as making significant contributions to the state-of-the-art literature in rail-highway grade crossings. The majority of citations are from the 1976-1979 period.
Incidents at highway-rail grade crossings in the United States declined 44.7 percent from 1994 to 2007. This decline was likely a result of various crossing safety improvement programs conducted during that period. The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) tasked the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) to determine the safety factors that were responsible for the reduction of highway-rail grade crossing incidents. The study was conducted in two parts. In the first part, an examination of the reduction of highway-rail grade crossing incidents during the 1994-2003 period was completed. In the second part of the study, an analysis of success factors for the 2003 through 2007 period was completed.
This synthesis will be of interest to state and local highway personnel who are responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of road surfaces and to railroad personnel with similar responsibilities associated with highway-rail grade crossings. It will also be of interest to manufacturers and suppliers of pavement and track materials for crossings. It presents information on the current practices related to highway-rail grade crossing surfaces, including the design and selection of crossing surface materials. This report of the Transportation Research Board describes the various types of highway- rail crossing surfaces, and the issues related to design, operation, and maintenance. Design elements include intersection geometry; drainage; special users, such as bicyclists; and descriptions of failures and their causes. Information is presented on crossing material selection factors, including life-cycle costs and on state practices in selection. Funding issues are also discussed.
