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Canadian Road/Railway Grade Crossing Detailed Safety Assessment Field Guide

TP 14372E, April 2005



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Canadian Road/Railway Grade Crossing Detailed Safety Assessment
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Table of Contents

Appendices



Introduction

The purpose of this document is to guide individuals through a safety assessment of road/railway grade crossings. It provides an overview of the safety assessment objectives and process, guidelines for selecting an assessment team and developing a program, and methodologies for conducting crossing assessments.

Pursuant to the Railway Safety Act, Transport Canada has developed a national document entitled "Grade Crossing Regulations" which requires road authorities and railway companies to conduct periodic detailed safety assessments (sections 5 through 14) at all unrestricted road/ railway grade crossings. It is anticipated that the regulations and the companion document entitled "RTD10 Road/Railway Grade Crossing Technical Standards and Inspection, Testing and Maintenance Requirements" will be implemented in the near term. The Canadian Road/Railway Grade Crossing Safety Assessment Guide is intended to provide consistent and comprehensive guidelines for conducting safety assessments at road/railway grade crossings.

It should be noted that the field sheets or 'prompt lists' included in this guide, cannot, and should not take the place of experience and due diligence by members of the assessment team. Rather, the lists are provided to remind those in the field of the range of issues that must be considered in the review. Those involved in the assessments must have a thorough working knowledge of the key documents that specify the design guidelines and standards for road/railway grade crossings including:

What are Detailed Safety Assessments?

A detailed safety assessment is a systematic process to evaluate the safety of a road/railway grade crossing. It is a proactive strategy to:

  • Reduce crash risk within the grade crossing environment.
  • Minimize the frequency and severity of preventable crashes by ensuring that all measures to eliminate or reduce the identified safety problems are fully considered, evaluated and documented.
  • Consider the safety of all grade crossing users including trains, pedestrians, and motorized and non-motorized vehicles.
  • Verify compliance to the safety technical standards referred to in the Railway Safety Act/Grade Crossing Regulations and contained in the RTD10 Road/Railway Grade Crossing Technical Standards and Inspection, Testing and Maintenance Requirements document.

It is intended to be a relatively inexpensive method for improving safety, which complements existing safety programs at road/railway grade crossings. Detailed safety assessments should not be used to replace other strategies such as identifying high crash locations or regular road/railway grade crossing maintenance inspections. Further information is contained in sections 5-14 of the Regulations.

Who conducts the detailed safety assessments?

The railway company and road authority are required to take joint responsibility for the detailed safety assessments. It is recommended that a team of at least two (2) people (one representing each organization) conduct the assessments. Costs can be minimized if the road authority and the railway company work together to plan and execute the safety assessments. Some guidelines regarding the composition of the assessment team are provided in Appendix A. Note that a professional engineer is required by the Railway Safety Act (see section 11, of the Act) to take responsibility for any engineering related work which would include these assessments.

How are the detailed safety assessments completed?

The assessment teams are required to review each crossing in the field and identify and evaluate all the factors that may impact the safety of the crossing. The team must review all relevant guidelines and standards considering the site characteristics, the existing traffic control system, and the railway and roadway operational characteristics including the types of vehicles and pedestrians using the crossing.

The teams are challenged to consider the cumulative effect of the individual standards and guidelines on overall safety. Findings and recommendations from the assessments are reported in a brief formal document. The road authority and railway company are required to respond to recommendations in their jurisdictions.

How are crossings selected?

Assessments should be applied to all existing unrestricted grade crossings and any new grade crossings that have been recently designed and are about to be constructed. The railway company and road authority should jointly develop a policy to review a certain proportion of these crossings on an annual basis. Crossings can be prioritized on the basis of safety performance and any known problems such as vehicles entering the grade crossing when the warning lights are activated or vehicles recurrently blocking the crossing.

When are the detailed safety assessments done?

Transport Canada's "Grade Crossing Regulations" requires road authorities and railway companies to conduct detailed safety assessments at all unrestricted road/ railway grade crossings every five (5) years. The period for follow-up assessments may be extended to ten (10) years if the responsible authorities agree that the safety-related conditions at, or in the vicinity, of the grade crossing will remain stable and the agreement is documented. Other circumstances may precipitate the requirement for an assessment including cessation of whistling, construction or significant operational changes, and two or more fatal collisions in five years. Details are available in sections 5 through 9 of the Regulations.

The Detailed Safety Assessment Process

The detailed safety assessment process can be summarized in the following five steps:

Step 1: Project organization, planning, and data collection

  • Identify a coordinator and assessor(s). Guidelines are presented Appendix A.
  • Jointly prepare a project plan and identify a priority schedule of grade crossings to be evaluated.
  • Collect and exchange all relevant rail and road data. Guidelines for data collection are provided in the field sheets in Appendix C (items identified with Road or Rail as the source).
  • Hold a start-up meeting with responsible stakeholders to:
    • Confirm project plan and schedule.
    • Review and exchange project information/data.
    • Confirm applicable sections of RTD 10 (see Appendix B for an overview).
    • Agree on the data to be collected in the field.

Step 2: Site Visit

  • Make arrangements for work zone safety on both the railway and roadway (e.g., temporary signing for work crews ahead, etc.)
  • Conduct site visit (mandatory)
  • Review field sheets (Appendix C) while conducting site visit.
  • Collect the data.

Step 3: Safety Assessment Analysis

  • Review responses to the field sheets to ensure all relevant factors have been considered and identified.
  • Conduct a detailed safety assessment of the field data (including any necessary calculations), design drawings and other relevant documents.
  • Jointly assess the crash risks based on the detailed safety review of the data.
  • Develop and agree on a list of key findings and recommendations for the assessment report.

Step 4: Safety Assessment Report

  • Prepare a safety assessment report (see Appendix D).
  • The report must list the findings and recommendations, provide alternatives and indicate the date for the next assessment.
  • Jointly review and prepare a response within four (4) weeks of receiving the assessment report indicating what action will be taken to address each finding.

Step 5: Post Assessment

  • Each responsible authority will maintain a copy of the report and responses as required by the Regulations.

Using This Guide

The field sheets in Appendix C have been "packaged" such that one set would be used when assessing a passive crossing (i.e., one with Standard Reflective Crossing Signs) while the other set would be used to review an active crossing (e.g., Flashing Lights and Bell (FLB) or Flashing Lights, Bell and Gates (FLBG)).

Most sheets are keyed to specific sections of RTD10 and all references are to RTD10 tables and figures unless otherwise noted. Most line items are linked to a source such as Road, Rail, measure, calculate, field and look-up. Data that is sourced as coming from either 'Road' or 'Rail' should be provided by the respective authorities before the field visit if at all possible.

Tools for an Assessment

The following items may be necessary for the completion of most safety assessments:

  • appropriate workzone traffic warning signs
  • personal safety gear (boots, hard hat, safety vest)
  • 2-way radios
  • measuring wheel (or laser range finder and target)
  • tape measure
  • 4-foot level
  • digital camera
  • large protractor
  • stop watch
  • retroreflectometer (for sign sheeting evaluation)
  • recent drawing and/or aerial photograph of crossing (if available)
  • ladder


Appendices


Date modified:
2012-02-13