An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
The U.S. Department of Transprotation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, in support of the Federal Railroad Administration is conducting a research program with the goal of reducing the number of fatalities and injuries at higway-railroad...
The railroad signal community and the grade crossing equipment suppliers have reported an increase in the occurrence of loss of shunt on railroad grade crossing island circuits, as confirmed through an October 1990 Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) survey of railroad signal officers. Loss...
A national study examined the accident histories of grade crossings with whistle bans. Findings suggest that whistle bans increase the risk of accidents at crossings.
As part of FRA Task Order 114, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Transportation Technology Center (TTC), Pueblo, Colorado, completed testing of Vehicle Proximity Alert System (VP AS) system 1. VP AS systems are designed to give priority vehicle operators (emergency, police, school...
The FRA has identified several types of auxiliary external alerting light arrangements as acceptable locomotive conspicuity measures and issued two Interim Rules in 1993 and 1994. This study investigated the performance of currently available external visual alerting devices for installation on...
In Section I, the basic model of SDT is described with reference to a driver approaching a grade crossing with a train also approaching. The driver's task is to decide if he can cross the tracks safely or if he must stop. The treatment employs some mathematics, which can be omitted without...
The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, in support of the Federal Railroad Administration is conducting a research program with the goal of reducing the number of accidents and resulting casualties at...
An assessment of the requirements for illumination at a railroad grade crossing reveals two principal needs: the need to illuminate the sides of railroad cars by in-place lighting at the crossing so that they can be recognized by a motorist at a stoppable distance, and the need to provide...
Eight grade crossing island detection technologies designed to eliminate problems associated with loss of shunt were evaluated by engineers at Transportation Technology Center, Inc., a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads, Pueblo, Colorado. Performance of these alternative...
The current study represents one of several efforts by the Federal Railroad Administration to evaluate the effectiveness of auditory warnings designed to promote awareness of approaching trains. A stationary horn (or wayside horn) located at the grade crossing was evaluated to learn whether it...