East End Railroads
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ALL ABOUT RAILROADS LONE STAR LEGAL AID Environmental Justice Team April 21, 2021 ■ Regulations All Aboard! ■ Blocked Crossings ■ Quiet zones ■ Right-of-Way issues ■ Illegal Dumping ■ Drainage ■ Air Monitoring ■ 5th Ward Legacy Contamination ■ Nuclear Waste Transport ■ Derailments ■ High Speed Rail REGULATIONS Who regulates railroads? Federal Railroad Safety Act – Enacted in 1970 – To “promote safety in every area of railroad operations and reduce railroad-related accidents and incidents.” 49 USC § 20101. – Secretary of Transportation has the power to “prescribe regulations and issue orders for every area of railroad safety.” – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the federal agency under the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for railroad regulations. Federal pre-emption of state and local laws based on two federal laws Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) ■ Preempts any state or local law, regulation, or order related to railroad safety or security ■ Preempts any regulation related to the if any federal regulations “cover” or “transportation by rail carriers,” including “substantially subsume the subject matter of “rates, classifications, rules (including car the relevant state law.” In order to trigger service, interchange, and other operating preemption, any relevant federal regulations rules), practices, routes, services, and “must cover the same subject matter, and facilities of such carriers.” not merely touch upon or relate to that subject matter.” ■ State or local regulation related to the “construction, acquisition, operation, 49 U.S.C.A. §20106 (1970). abandonment, or discontinuance of spur, industrial, team, switching, or side tracks, or facilities” is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board and is thus preempted. U.S.C.A. §10501(b) (1995). What are the limits on pre-emption? ■ Two exceptions to FRSA’s general pre-emption provision. (1) Subject matter is not already covered by regulation enacted by ■ Secretary of Transportation (with respect to railroad safety matters) or ■ Secretary of Homeland Security (with respect to railroad security matters) 49 U.S.C.A. §20106 (1970). (2) The law, regulation or order (a) is necessary to eliminate/reduce an essentially local safety hazard; (b) agrees with a law, regulation, or order of the US government; and (c) does not unreasonably burden interstate commerce. 49 U.S.C.A. §20106 (1970). This exception is only applicable to state regulations and does not apply to local laws or regulations. How long can a train block a RR crossing? ■ States lack authority to enforce time limits on how long a railroad company can block a crossing. ■ In 2001, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal laws preempt state anti- blocking statutes. ■ Section 471.007 was removed from the Texas Transportation Code per the Texas attorney general's opinion in June 2005. ■ The only legitimate authority to regulate blocked crossings is the federal government. ■ Multiple times in the past the FRA has been requested to begin the rulemaking process to determine effective measures to regulate blocked crossings. ■ Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act of 1994 (FRSA), 49 U.S.C. § 20101 et seq. (2000), is the main source of the railroad industry’s contention that state and local laws are not enforceable. City of Houston, Ordinance on Railroads ■ Sec. 38-9. - Obstructing street or crossing. Any officer, agent, servant or receiver of any railway corporation who willfully obstructs for more than five minutes at any one time any street, railway crossing or public highway by permitting a train to stand on or across such crossing, shall be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00. City of Houston Ordinances, Section 38-7 Railroads must: • maintain all drains, culverts, waterways, ditches, and sewers to properly drain the streets near railway • keep all streets near railroads free from obstructions of every kind • construct and keep in good repair all bridges and rail crossings over all ditches, sewers and culverts • fill up and grade all sinks and gullies adjacent to Railroads. BLOCKED CROSSINGS 1. Approach with care. Warn others that you are slowing down. Turn on 4-way flashers. Use pull-out lane if available. 2. Prepare to stop. Turn off fans and radio and roll down windows. Locate your cell phone for use in emergency. Stop at least 15 feet, but not more than 50 feet, from nearest rail. 3. Look and listen both ways, carefully. Bend forward to see around mirrors and A-pillars. 4. If it won't fit, don't commit. Do not enter a crossing unless you can drive completely through without stopping! And, remember, trains are wider than the track. Before you pull onto the track, make sure there is enough room on the other side for the back of your vehicle (and any overhanging cargo) to be at least 3 feet beyond the furthest rail. 5. Look again. Before you move, look again in both directions. 6. Cross tracks with care. Signal, watch for a safe gap, pull back onto the road if you used a pull-out lane. Use highest gear that will let you cross without shifting. 7. Keep going once you start, even if lights start to flash or gates come down. • GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. Evacuate your vehicle. (Trains traveling at 60 mph may take a mile or more to stop.) • Move away. Walk toward the oncoming train, and away from the tracks at a 45- degree angle. (If your vehicle is hit, debris will spread out from the tracks in the same direction the train is moving.) • Locate the emergency phone number. When you are safely away from the tracks, find the railroad's emergency phone number and the DOT crossing identification number posted near the crossing. • Call for help! Call the railroad's emergency phone number, the local police, or 911. Tell them a vehicle is on the tracks. Provide the location, crossing number (if posted), and the name of the road or highway. What can you do? ■ Write down: – Time – Date – How Long – Numbers on side of rail cars – # on the lead locomotive (e.g., HLCX 1234) FIND THE EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SIGN (ENS) DOT Number (six digit number with alpha character at the end) Railroad Company Name How to Report Crossing Blockages Union Pacific Contacts Richard A. Zientek Director - Public Affairs Union Pacific Railroad 24125 Old Aldine Westfield Road Spring, Texas 77373 P 281-350-7178 F 402-997-2011 C 713-228-7045 E [email protected] Report any issues (such as blocked crossings) to Union Pacific's Response Management Communications Center (RMCC). The RMCC number is 1-888-877-7267. QUIET ZONES ■ Federal law requires that Warning trains must sound the horn 15-20 seconds Sound prior to arrival at a grade Regulations crossing. ■ This regulation means the train horn must be sounded continuously from about a ¼ mile in advance of a grade crossing until the train reaches the crossing. Segments of railroad lines where train crews are exempt from sounding the horn at grade crossings. Enhance at-grade crossing safety and improve the quality of life Quiet Zones near the railroad corridor by eliminating horn noise. The Federal Railroad Administration authorizes Quiet Zones. Criteria for Quiet Zones ■ Grade crossings must have: – gates – constant warning time (as determined by the railroad company) ■ Safety – Calculation of Risk Index compared to national levels ■ Affected Area: must be primarily residential, transient lodging, recuperative medical facilities, cultural, spiritual or performing arts centers, schools, nature preserves, parks and playgrounds. ■ Funding: must be secured. Costs can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. City has allocated funding to create some quiet zones. Safety Features ■ Prevent drivers from deliberately driving around lowered railroad gates. A median barrier may be installed along the centerline of the street. ■ FRA requires concrete barrier or channelization devices to be 100 feet in length (60 feet if a driveway or cross street is present) from the nose of the median to the tip of the grade crossing gate. Gates with medians or channelization devices Safety Features Four Quadrant Gate Systems ■ The use of four sets of gates to block vehicles from passing on the entire street and prohibiting motorists from driving around the gate arms. ■ The railroad companies typically require an annual fee (over $5,000) to maintain the additional railroad signal equipment. Other Safety Features ■ One Way Street with Crossing ■ Street Closure: Street closures Signal: One way street operation effectively eliminate the grade with gates covering the entire crossing removing the need to stretch of street sound the train horn. Safety Upgrades Alternative Safety Measures include the following: ■ Modified Supplementary Safety Measures: An SSM that has been adjusted to accommodate unique circumstances. ■ Engineering Alternative Safety Measures: An ASM that addresses underlying geometric conditions including sight distance, that are a source of increased risk at a crossing. ■ Non-engineered Alternative Safety Measures: Photo enforcement, or a consistent and systematic program of traffic law enforcement, public education programs and the like that produces a measurable reduction of risk at the crossings. Quiet Zone Name From Street To Street Year Established Greater Inwood Watonga Blvd W Little York Rd 2016 Water Works Blvd Water Works Blvd Water Works Blvd 2016 Silver/ Sawyer Silver St Sawyer St 2015 East End Phase 1 Polk St Telephone Rd 2014 Kingwood Kingwood Dr Hamblen Dr 2012 South Main/ Westbury