Safe Railroad Rights-of-Way

Safe Railroad Rights-of-Way Let's extend our rail safety concern beyond the crossings to the rights-of-way (ROWs), where 70% of RR deaths occur.

Crossing deaths are preventable, involving unwise acts, but ROW deaths are largely hurting, troubled, and forgotten people who need help.

Save the Date! Join the DuPage Railroad Safety Council (DRSC) for its next Rail Safety Summit on October 21. The DRSC an...
07/11/2026

Save the Date! Join the DuPage Railroad Safety Council (DRSC) for its next Rail Safety Summit on October 21. The DRSC and Metra are presenting an important program on "Reducing Su***de Risk" as an integral part of railroad safety. Expert panels are expected to address topics including media discretion, engineering strategies, and public outreach.

More details and registration information will be shared soon. For more info, visit dupagerailsafety.org.

We hope to see you there -- whether in person or virtually!

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
National League of Cities
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/.

DEAR SENATORS: The House got it wrong. Fix Surface Transportation Reauthorization.From the perspective of all the deaths...
06/03/2026

DEAR SENATORS: The House got it wrong.
Fix Surface Transportation Reauthorization.

From the perspective of all the deaths along the railroad ROWs, the current version of the BUILD AMERICA 250 Act (HR 8870) is a near failure. Though billions are appropriated for highway-rail grade crossing safety, that bill provides almost no funding to prevent ROW deaths, with the exception of small amounts that may be available from CRISI grants. And out of 249 pages devoted to railroads, only one seeks to bring attention to reducing su***des and trespassing deaths, and sadly, that section (10423) shows a huge gap between its intent and its ex*****on.

As the Senate completes its own version of Surface Transportation Reauthorization, we urge you to include ROW safety provisions that reflect the risks evidenced by the death statistics.

For us, the highest priority is assigning clear responsibility for addressing ROW deaths to the FRA and to the states. State Rail Safety Action Plans should be required to be COMPREHENSIVE, addressing both crossing safety and ROW safety.

Clearly defined responsibility even comes before additional funding.
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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
GoRail
National League of Cities
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

SOURCE: Original digital picture of US Capitol created with Microsoft CoPilot.

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

THANKFUL FOR 2-PERSON TRAIN CREWSEach day in my small northern Indiana city of 7,000 people, 40 freight trains barrel th...
05/19/2026

THANKFUL FOR 2-PERSON TRAIN CREWS

Each day in my small northern Indiana city of 7,000 people, 40 freight trains barrel through the middle of town at 45 to 60 miles per hour. Many are two miles long and some are three. Quite a few include numerous tank cars hauling hazardous materials.

When you add in all the children who live near our tracks, the derailment we suffered a few years ago, the numerous times I call the ENS number to report a signal malfunction, and the FRA numbers indicating that the risk of our crossings is twice the national average for gated crossings, MY VOTE IS FOR THREE-PERSON TRAIN CREWS!

We love the trains, the local people, and train crews who work so hard each day to make them run, but . . .

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
GoRail
National League of Cities
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

SOURCE: Original digital oil paintings of train crew created with Microsoft CoPilot.

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

70% of all railroad fatalities are along the rights-of-way.------------------------------------------- PLEASE REMEMBER...
05/18/2026

70% of all railroad fatalities are along the rights-of-way.

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PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/ See less

HR 3505 IS A GREAT START!!!The Barriers to Su***de Act of 2025 (HR 3505) would establish a grant program funded with $10...
05/17/2026

HR 3505 IS A GREAT START!!!

The Barriers to Su***de Act of 2025 (HR 3505) would establish a grant program funded with $10 million per year over the next four years to assist states and local governments build barriers to prevent su***des at bridges, buildings, parking garages, railroad crossings, and railroad stations. This competitive grant would offer funding up to 80% of the cost.

Grants would be available for su***de prevention nets, su***de prevention barriers, or any other evidence-based su***de deterrent that is determined by the Secretary of Transportation to be appropriate.

According to the bill, "In making a grant under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to a project located in an area with a high rate of su***de, taking into consideration the number of su***des and rate of su***des per capita in an area, or other priority characteristics, as determined by the Secretary."

This bill has bipartisan sponsorship and deserves enthusiastic support! As the grant program builds credibility, we will argue for including railroad rights-of-way (away from crossings) among the eligible projects, plus we will make the case for greater funding levels.

To read the bill, go to: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr3505ih/pdf/BILLS-119hr3505ih.pdf

SPONSOR: Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (VA)

CO-SPONSORS: André Carson (IN); Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ); Sharice Davids (KS); Brian K. Fitzpatrick (PA); Marcy Kaptur (OH); Betty McCollum (MN); Gwen Moore (WI); Seth Moulton (MA); Jamie Raskin (MD); Shri Thanedar (MI); Lori Trahan (MA)

HOUSE COMMITTEE: Transportation and Infrastructure

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Each pedestrian strike on the railroad tracks impacts many others as well, including locomotive engineers and their families, communities, railroads, railroad passengers and customers, and others. So, preventing a trespassing or su***de death also prevents a host of other victims.

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
GoRail
National League of Cities
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

BLIND EYE FROM RR ESTABLISHMENTIn an article published by the National League of Cities, GoRail reviews freight rail saf...
05/16/2026

BLIND EYE FROM RR ESTABLISHMENT

In an article published by the National League of Cities, GoRail reviews freight rail safety. Sadly, the article is another example of how the railroad establishment ignores all the tragedies along the railroad rights-of-way (away from crossings), where 70% of all railroad deaths take place.

They rightly point to many safety successes but are strangely silent on the largest cause of all railroad fatalities. You can read the article titled "Railroads' Safety Investments Showed Progress" at www.nlc.org/article/2026/04/24/.

This same report is also highlighted with an interview on the pages of the Association of American Railroads and GoRail:
www.facebook.com/share/r/18i2RCT8Eh/
www.facebook.com/share/r/18SA2QbXVq/

To be clear, every death on the right-of-way involves someone who is there illegally, so railroads, governments, and communities can all credibly argue that they are not at fault. But you could make a similar point about casualties at highway-rail crossings, and we invest billions of dollars in making them safer.

But even more, most right-of-way tragedies involve hurting, troubled, or impaired people -- those with mental health or substance abuse issues. Crossing deaths typically involve people who are "not wise," but right-of-way deaths are mostly people who are "not well." They deserve our help -- not neglect or disdain.

Working together, railroads, governments, and communities can address these forgotten deaths.

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
GoRail
National League of Cities
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

WHY IGNORE TRAGEDIES ALONG THE RIGHTS-OF-WAY?GoRail wrote an article on rail safety published by the National League of ...
04/29/2026

WHY IGNORE TRAGEDIES ALONG THE RIGHTS-OF-WAY?

GoRail wrote an article on rail safety published by the National League of Cities entitled "Railroads’ Safety Investments Showed Progress." The report highlighted both substantial investment and important progress made in certain areas of railroad safety: "2025 was a record-breaking year for freight rail safety. The overall train accident rate declined 14 percent year over year, with several categories — including derailments, employee injury rates and track-caused incidents — reaching historic lows. Human factor-related incidents also declined nearly 20 percent year over year." Elsewhere, they added a clear-eyed assessment: grade crossing incidents were "largely flat." This progress deserves our gratitude. I urge you to read it:
www.nlc.org/article/2026/04/24/railroads-safety-investments-showed-progress/

But sadly, it totally DISREGARDS the largest group of railroad deaths -- people dying on the railroad rights-of-way (away from crossings). Those deaths make up 70% of all railroad deaths -- more than twice as many as at crossings -- and are up 9% over the past decade. Yet, they are virtually ignored by the railroad establishment.

As they continue to avoid right-of-way tragedies -- including their impact on locomotive engineers, train crews, immediate families, communities, railroads, railroad passengers and customers, and others -- we need to do our best to remind them of all these hurting, troubled, and impaired people who are losing their lives due, in part, to systemic neglect.

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
GoRail
National League of Cities
Senate Commerce Republicanslicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

10 PRIME CANDIDATES for CRISI GRANTSFor Trespassing Prevention GrantsThe Federal Railroad Administration just delivered ...
04/21/2026

10 PRIME CANDIDATES for CRISI GRANTS
For Trespassing Prevention Grants

The Federal Railroad Administration just delivered the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the 2025/2026 CRISI grants. See https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2026-04/FY25-26_CRISI_NOFO_4.20.26_PDFa.pdf.

Eligible applicants include: Class II and Class III railroads.

Eligible projects include: "The development and implementation of measures to prevent trespassing and reduce associated injuries and fatalities."

Total CRISI funding: $2.039 billion

Deadline for application: June 22, 2026

As you know, those who die on the railroad rights-of-way (away from crossings) are there illegally, so railroads, communities, and governments can all credibly argue that they are not to blame. However, most of these tragedies involve hurting, troubled, or impaired people, so we want to do all we can to prevent these losses. Plus, each pedestrian strike risks the mental health of the train crew and also impacts families, communities, passengers, railroads, and others.

So, these CRISI grants offer an opportunity for Class II and Class III railroads, communities, and governments to work together to address the largest group of railroad deaths.

I want to take another opportunity to express admiration and appreciation for Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Congresswoman Nellie Pou, both of whom have worked hard over the past year to bring right-of-way deaths, including su***des, to public attention. Their districts look to be disproportionately represented on this list, so I hope they are able to benefit from this year's CRISI program.

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

SOURCE: https://data.transportation.gov/stories/s/FRA-Safety-Data-Landing-Page/dakf-i7zd/, accessed April 21, 2026. Data from FRA. Deaths include reported su***des. Analysis by Ed Strohbehn.

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

FRA ANNOUNCES CRISI GRANTSIf your community is seeking financial assistance to prevent trespassing and su***des on the r...
04/21/2026

FRA ANNOUNCES CRISI GRANTS

If your community is seeking financial assistance to prevent trespassing and su***des on the railroad rights-of-way, I urge you to pursue a CRISI grant.

The Federal Railroad Administration has announced its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program for 2025/2026. Details, including the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) can be found here: https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/fy-2025-2026-nofo-crisi

Among the eligible projects is one for trespassing prevention: "The development and implementation of measures to prevent trespassing and reduce associated injuries and fatalities." As the NOFO points out, for these trespassing projects:

"Applicants must provide documentation indicating: whether the project is located in a county(ies) with high pedestrian trespasser casualties, as identified in FRA’s National Strategy to Prevent Trespassing on Railroad Property; whether the applicant has incorporated the Community Trespass Prevention Program into their project approach20; whether and how law enforcement agencies will undertake trespass enforcement activities as part of a larger strategy; whether the project would include funding for law enforcement wages to undertake trespass enforcement activities; and whether and how the project targets trespassing hot spots.

"If the project includes an outreach campaign to reduce su***de by railroad, applicants must provide a detailed description of the proposed outreach campaign, including (but not limited to) relevant data on rail-related su***des in the project location, the manner and extent to which trespass su***de is expected to be reduced, and examples of prior efforts to address rail-related su***de."

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PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

THE FORGOTTEN TRAGEDIESHats off to the railroad establishment's Railroad Day on Capitol Hill for 2026 being held on Marc...
03/04/2026

THE FORGOTTEN TRAGEDIES

Hats off to the railroad establishment's Railroad Day on Capitol Hill for 2026 being held on March 4, 2026. Bringing railroad issues, especially rail safety, to the U.S. Congress is an important effort.

Please do not forget the railroad rights-of-way (ROWs), where 70% of all railroad fatalities occur. Last year (2025), there were 789 deaths along the ROWs, nearly three times as many as the 305 deaths at crossings (only half of whom were vehicle occupants killed by a collision between a train and a vehicle). Plus, studies suggest that hundreds of locomotive engineers and other members of the train crew are impacted by these pedestrian strikes. But in spite of these tragedies, ROW safety gets roughly 2% of federal rail safety grant funding.

This mismatch deserves serious review, especially given that the majority of ROW deaths involve hurting or troubled people -- those with suicidal intentions, mental health challenges, or substance abuse issues. These people need our help, not neglect or even disdain. With Surface Transportation Reauthorization being debated this year, please consider these steps:

1. Whether through a new grant program or through CRISI, encourage funding for ROW safety similar to Section 130 funding.

2. Advocate State Rail Safety Action Plans that are COMPREHENSIVE rather than focused exclusively on the crossings (49 CFR 234.11).

3. Push to include four members on the FRA's Railroad Safety Advisory Committee with expertise on ROW issues: one rail safety advocate focused on right-of-way issues; one from the commuter railroad industry with experience in training teams to reach out to passengers or pedestrians who may be at risk; one with professional mental health credentials focused on railroad su***de prevention; and one from the academic world who is researching right-of-way safety.

4. Argue for common-sense liability protections for communities and railroads who install ROW barriers and other mitigation strategies to prevent trespassing and su***des. Right now, since all ROW deaths involve people illegally on the tracks, communities and railroads have a perverse incentive to avoid solutions -- efforts to address ROW safety actually introduce significant liability that does not exist if they do nothing.

5. Finally, offer support for groups at the FRA and at the Volpe Center who are doing world-class research into ROW issues. They would benefit from increased focus and support for their efforts.

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American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
Association of American Railroads
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Federal Railroad Administration
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate Commerce Republicans
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans

PLEASE REMEMBER: This page is the work of a retired private citizen and is not associated with any organization, railroad, company, government, or government agency. For Introduction & Background, go to www.facebook.com/share/p/1AvG4TiqLy/

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