F E D E R A L R A I L R O A D A D M I N I S T R A T I O N National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory Rule & GCIS 2015 National Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Training Conference Arlington, TX November 1-4, 2015 Ron E. Ries Dee Chappell, Presenter 1
Summary Requires railroads to submit information to the U.S. DOT National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory Mandated by section 204(a) of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Submit information about previously unreported and new highway-rail and pathway crossings to the U.S. DOT National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory and to periodically update existing crossing data. 2
Also Included New Inventory Form Based on input from stakeholders New Inventory Guide Provides instructions on how to complete the new form Instructions for electronic submission of data to the Inventory. 3
Railroads Affected Railroads on the general system Urban rapid transit operators that are connected to the general system Operate on general system tracks, typically temporally separate (transit during day and freight at night) Transit operates a separate track through the crossing. Does not apply to plant railroads 4
Dates January 6, 2015 Final Rule published March 9, 2015 - Effective date March 7, 2016 Updates due for crossings last updated by the railroad before 3/7/13 5
Rule Definitions Operating railroad means any railroad or urban rapid transit operator that operates one or more trains through a highway-rail or pathway crossing on, or connected to, the general railroad system of transportation. 6
Rule Definitions Primary operating railroad means the operating railroad that either owns or maintains the track through the highway-rail or pathway crossing, unless the crossing is located within a private company, port, or dock area. 7
Railroad ABC owns & maintains tracks in crossing and Railroad XYZ operates through the crossing. ABC is Primary Operating Railroad 8
Primary operating railroad (cont d) If more than one operating railroad either owns or maintains the track through the highway-rail or pathway crossing, or if no operating railroad owns or maintains the track through the highway-rail or pathway crossing, then the operating railroad that operates the highest number of trains through the crossing is the primary operating railroad. 9
ABC and XYZ own separate tracks in crossing ABC runs 10 trains/day; XYZ runs 5 trains/day ABC is Primary Operating Railroad ABC RR XYZ RR 10
Tracks owned by Big City ABC runs 10 trains/day; XYZ Runs 5 trains/day ABC is Primary Operating Railroad ABC RR XYZ RR 11
Primary operating railroad (cont d) If there is only one operating railroad that operates one or more trains through a highway-rail or pathway crossing, that operating railroad is the primary operating railroad. 12
234.403 Submission of data to the Crossing Inventory, generally Data shall be submitted using the Form Either hard copy or electronically Form shall be completed in accordance with the Guide. Class Is shall submit electronically 13
234.407 Submission of initial data to the Crossing Inventory for new crossings Primary Operating Railroad Shall provide the Inventory Number to each operating railroad that operates over the crossing. Shall submit accurate and complete Inventory Forms no later than 6 months after the crossing becomes operational but no later than March 9, 2016 14
234.407 Submission of initial data to the Crossing Inventory for new crossings Operating Railroads when operating on separate tracks through the crossing Submit data specified in the Guide (mainly train operation information in Part II) no later than March 9, 2016 within 6 months after the crossing becomes operational but not later than March 9, 2016. 15
234.409 Submission of periodic updates to the Crossing Inventory. Primary Operating Railroad Shall submit accurate and complete Inventory Forms for each crossing at least every 3 years from the date of the most recent update or by March 9, 2016, whichever occurs later. Does not include closed or grade-separated crossings Time for hard copy submissions is measured from the mailing date of the most recent submission. 16
234.411 Changes requiring submission of updated information to the Crossing Inventory. Crossing sale - Any railroad that sells a crossing shall update the Inventory reporting the crossing sale. Must be done within 3 months of the sale or by March 9, 2016, whichever occurs later. Crossing closure - Railroad shall update the Inventory reporting the crossing closure. Must be done within 3 months of the closure or by March 9, 2016, whichever occurs later. 17
234.411 Changes requiring submission of updated information to the Crossing Inventory. Changes in Crossing Characteristics - Railroad shall update the Inventory reporting the following changes at public crossings: Crossing surface Warning device adding or removal of a crossbuck, YIELD or STOP sign, flashing lights or gates Must be done within 3 months of the change or by March 9, 2016, whichever occurs later. Does not include changes at temporary crossings 18
http://www.fra.dot.gov/page/p0111 19
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New Form 21
New Form 22
New Form 23
New Form 24
New Form 25
F E D E R A L R A I L R O A D A D M I N I S T R A T I O N Information on New GCIS and Electronic Updating 26
http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov 27
References Safety Data Public Website Grade Crossing Inventory System FRA Guide For Preparing U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Forms FRA Web User Guide Grade Crossing Inventory System (GCIS) v2.0 FRA Instructions for Electronic Submission of Grade Crossing Inventory Data v2.0 FRA Data Migration Strategy Grade Crossing Inventory System (GCIS) Note: Many of these reference materials can be found directly within the Grade Crossing Inventory System under the Help tab 28
FRA Points of Contacts Policy, Procedures, and Guidance Ron Ries - Staff Director ronald.ries@dot.gov JoAnn Scott - Program Analyst joann.scott@dot.gov Kathryn Gresham - Trial Attorney kathryn.gresham@dot.gov Technical Issues with Electronic System GCIS Support Desk (See Next Slide) Kebo Chen - Staff Director kebo.chen@dot.gov Kevin Snyder Operations Research Analyst kevin.snyder@dot.gov 29
Questions Ron Ries Staff Director RRS-23 (202) 493-6285 30
THANK YOU! 31
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