Railroad Grade Crossing Committee

Chair: Karen Hankinson, Olsson, Irvine, CA, USA Railroad Crossing Signal

Vice Chair: Nicole Jackson, Alfred Benesch & Company, Fort Worth, TX, USA

Secretary: Gyan Sinha, Stantec, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Mission

To share current information on best practices in highway-rail grade crossing safety and operational treatments between members and other interested parties.

Background

The Traffic Engineering Council established Railroad Grade Crossing Committee for the purpose of assembling Federal, State, and Local jurisdictional information on existing warrants, policies, and regulations governing selection of various alternative traffic control treatments and devices at highway-railroad grade crossings and to synthesize this information and make it available to practitioners.

The Committee provides a venue for ITE to develop an up-to-date resources to supplement the U.S. Department of Transportation's Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3^rd Edition and ITE’s Preemption of Traffic Signals Near Railroad Grade Crossings, 2^nd Edition recommended practice as well as to provide more recent information relevant to practitioners involved in the selection and/or design of railroad grade crossing traffic control devices. Committee members are active in developing and applying best practices and standards for grade crossing safety, design,and operation through various venues including participation on the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sponsoring webinars, workshops, and sessions on grade crossing issues at ITE meetings, and actively participating in the field as public sector, private sector, or institutional professionals.

To become a member, please add yourself to the Railroad Grade Crossing Committee’s ITE e-Community. (available to ITE members only). You are encouraged to participate in the e-Community as a forum where researchers and practitioners can share and discuss materials relevant to the railroad grade crossing recent publications and studies, where new information can be tracked, and where emerging practices can be discussed. Examples include the development of preemption spreadsheets, hazard index calculations, and sample diagnostic team evaluation reports. The Railroad Grade Crossing e-Community provides a location where agencies can share their established procedures and users can have a centralized location for discussion of railroad grade crossings resources.

Committee Meeting Minutes, Webinars, Presentations, Publications

The Committee usually meets in person twice a year: in January in conjunction with the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. and in July/August during the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit.

July 18, 2024 Meeting Agenda

April 23, 2024 Meeting Agenda

January 2024 Meeting | November 2023 Meeting | August 2023 Meeting

Prior Meeting Archive

Index of Past Conference Presentations

For more information and availability please contact Douglas Noble (dnoble@ite.org)

Quick Bites:

Track Angle of Railroad Grade Crossings Effect on Bicycles

Two-Way Separated Bike Lanes at Railroad Grade

Webinar(s): Introduction to the New Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition (on-demand)

Traffic Signal - Railroad Grade Crossing Preemption Resources

Various factors contribute to the safety of a highway rail grade crossing near an intersection controlled by a traffic signal, a key factor being railroad preemption of the traffic signal. This section provides useful information for practitioners to understand the key elements of preemption as well as worksheets to calculate adequate advanced warning and preemption time.

Preemption of Traffic Signals Near RR Grade Crossings 2nd Edition Cover

Seven Points Every Traffic Engineer Should Know About Rail Preemption Installations by Brent D. Ogden provides an introduction for those less familiar with this aspect of traffic signal design, timing, and operation. The ITE recommended practice Preemption of Traffic Signals Near Railroad Grade Crossings, 2^nd Edition offers detailed content and guidance regarding the topic.

Sample Preemption Forms

Knowing how much preemption time is needed is a key factor in timing traffic signals near highway-rail at-grade crossings. The following forms and instructions provide methodology and worksheets to determine the adequate amount of preemption and advance preemption time needed. (Note: Some links may download in excel or zip format to preserve file attributes.)

Caltrans

Guide for Determining the Time Requirements for Traffic Signal Preemption at Highway-Rail grade Crossing

City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Minnesota DOT

Minnesota Preemption Form

North Carolina DOT

North Carolina Preemption Form

Ohio DOT

Ohio Preemption Form

Texas Department of Transportation

Utah Deportment of Transportation

Washington State DOT

Resources Grade Crossing Reference Information NCUTCD Proposed Revisions to Part 8 of the MUTCD

NOTE: This Section will be updated soon following review of the MUTCD 11th Edition.

The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) has approved proposed revisions to Part 8 – Traffic Control for Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings, of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). These proposed revisions to the MUTCD have been approved by the NCUTCD, but have not been approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). After review and possible modification by the FHWA, the proposed revisions were issued as a Notice of Proposed Amendments to the MUTCD on December 14, 2020. The public comment period was extended to May 14, 2021. After reviewing comments from the public, the FHWA will then publish a final rule as the next edition of the MUTCD. It is very likely that the final version will include some changes to the proposed NCUTCD revisions; however, these recommendations are in the public record and may be useful to practitioners in the absence of a new MUTCD.

Preemption Language (approved by NCUTCD in June 2015):

Edge Line and Stop Line Markings Language (approved by NCUTCD in January 2016):

Pre-Signals

Pre-Signals are traffic signals in advance of the highway rail grade crossings. This article from the ITE Journal, "Use of Pre-Signals in Advance of a Highway Rail Grade Crossing: A Specialized Tool with Specific Applications", provides a great description of pre-signal use in the United States.

Hazard Index Calculations

The Federal Railroad Administration provides an online application for determining the hazard index of an at-grade crossing. Follow the link below to use the application.