Safety first where roads cross train tracks

Arailroad-crossing accident that killed three people and injured nine in Long Island recently is renewing calls for a long-overdue look at the hazards where rail tracks go across well-traveled local roads.

These crossings inherently pose danger for cars vs trains, but enhanced safety features can reduce the risk and should be a priority. Yet the Senate committee with jurisdiction over rail safety hasn’t had a hearing on the hazards of rail crossings in at least 15 years.

In the Westbury, New York, accident on Feb. 26 a vehicle was hit by two Long Island Rail Road trains heading in opposite directions. The president of the railroad said the driver went around the crossing gates, the vehicle was struck by one train, then by another, which caused the front two railcars to derail and crash into the station platform. The three who died were in the vehicle; the injured were seven train passengers, a conductor and an engineer.

The assertion that the driver was trying to beat the train does not mitigate the need to make crossings as safe as possible with highly visible warnings and gates.

With the alarming title of Accident Prediction Report, dated March 6, the Federal Railroad Administration shows 30 crossings in Connecticut ranked with the probability that a collision between a train and a vehicle will happen at the crossing in a year.

Of the 30 sites on the list, four are in Danbury, four in Norwalk, two in Stamford, two in Darien and includes single crossings in Bethel, New Canaan, North Haven, Ansonia, Portland and North Canaan.

The Web Accident Prevention System calculations are derived from computer models of data on the physical and operating characteristics of a crossing and five years of accident history.

The list does not rank crossings from most to least dangerous, but rather is intended as a tool to raise awareness of potential dangers and direct resources where most needed.

In response to the Long Island fatalities, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer are reintroducing the Highway-Rail Grade Safety Crossing Act that would provide federal grants to improve safety at rail crossings.

In the past five years, more than 1,000 fatalities, 4,000 injuries and 10,000 collisions have occurred at rail crossings across the country, according to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics.

This is something Congress should be talking about. The Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees rail safety, hasn’t extensively discussed the issue since June, 2013, and hasn’t had a hearing on rail crossing hazards in 15 years, according to Blumenthal.

In Connecticut, the dangers are all too well known. In 2012, two people were killed and two others injured when their car crossing tracks near the West Redding train station was struck by a train. The crossing had warning lights, but no gates. Four months later, gates were installed.

In our state where railroads, a plus for mobility and economic growth, wind through populous areas, safety must be in the forefront.