A railroad crossing in Sacramento County, California, is now safer and a little easier for motorists to navigate thanks to Union Pacific's train crews, who took action and reached across departmental lines to implement change.
Union Pacific train crews were noticing worrisome and unsafe behavior at the crossing, including speeding motorists failing to yield, when they decided to report their concerns to Union Pacific’s Safety Hotline.
The train crews’ calls eventually resulted in federal funds being secured for safety improvements at the crossing, used by Union Pacific to provide service to a local customer.
“Our train crews deserve huge kudos for flagging this issue. They called Union Pacific’s Safety Hotline and reported that motorists in the area were racing to beat the train,” said Peggy Ygbuhay, senior director – Public Affairs, for Union Pacific Railroad. “We knew we needed to do something to protect the public and our employees, who were using this crossing several times a week and, often, at night.”
After learning of the train crew’s concerns, Union Pacific’s Public Projects Group reached out to Sacramento County and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which has safety oversight of railroads and highway/rail crossings in California, to schedule a diagnostic review of the crossing.
Union Pacific’s Public Projects Group is the primary point of contact for local communities and public agencies working on public projects, such as crossings.
“The information we receive from the Safety Hotline and Union Pacific’s 24/7 Response Management Communications Center (RMCC) is so valuable to us,” said Mark Forgues, public projects coordinator. “We encourage all employees to continue to use these reporting systems, because those reports are what led us to this crossing.”
Union Pacific does not own crossings and cannot unilaterally make changes to crossings. The entities that maintain the crossings, such as highway agencies or other authorities, must apply to the CPUC for permission to alter or improve a rail at-grade crossing in California.
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Part of the process includes a required diagnostic review, which is an on-site engineering study of the crossing. Typically, it involves numerous agencies that have jurisdiction or responsibility over the crossing itself, including state and local agencies and other stakeholders such as the railroad.
After the diagnostic meeting was conducted at the crossing, the CPUC decided to nominate the crossing to receive federal dollars for safety enhancements.
“The CPUC’s Rail Safety Division considers many real and potential risks when identifying safety concerns at grade crossings, including recent incident history, rail traffic, and vehicular volumes,” said Terrie Prosper, California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) news and outreach director. “Our team works to decide what the best treatment is for each case that we come across.”
As a result, this grade crossing was approved for funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s program to eliminate grade crossing hazards. The funding was used to make significant improvements to the crossing that included streetlights increasing visibility for passing motorists, as well as installation of active crossing lights and gates.
“Safety is truly a priority here at Union Pacific,” said Forgues. “This grade crossing is a great example of what can happen when employees team up to implement change.”
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