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Railroad Grade Crossings

Warning Device
Number
% of Total
Flashing Lights and Gates
1,794
29.7%
Flashing Lights Only
1,366
22.6%
Other
168
2.8%
Stop Signs Plus Crossbucks
982
16.3%
Crossbucks Only
1,729
28.6%
Totals
6,039
100.0%

Indiana 2007 Rail-Highway Crossing Inventory

More than half of all crashes at railroad crossings occur when motorists ignore lights and gates that are in place and operating.

Indiana became known as “The Crossroads of America” more than a century ago, long before interstate highways crossed our state. It was because of the many railroads that ran across our state.

Today, many busy railroad lines cross the State. Indiana’s rail freight traffic has increased in recent years and is expected to increase further in the years ahead. Indiana has more than 6,000 public rail-highway crossings, which is more than all but four other states. More than half of the rail crossings in Indiana have train activated warning devices, which is better than the national average.

Installation of lights and gates won’t solve the whole problem or rail-highway crossing safety. Driver behavior is a significant contributor, because more than half of all crashes at railroad crossings occur when motorists ignore lights and gates that are in place and operating.

Thanks to progress both on warning devices and on educating the public, fatalities and personal injury crashes at rail crossings have decreased substantially over the past 30 years.

Public vs. Private crossings

Private crossings are not required to have advance signs or other markings and are on roadways not maintained by a public authority. For example, a privately owned road or driveway leading into a factory or onto farm fields is a private crossing.

Public crossings are located on public highways, roads, and streets and are required to have advance warning signs and crossbucks. Some public crossings may also have train activated warning devices such as flashing lights or gates.

Basic information about any public or private crossing, including the crash history at the crossing, is available at the Federal Rail Administration Internet web site: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/