Sec. 35401. Highway-rail grade crossing safety

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Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a model of a State-specific highway-rail grade crossing action plan and distribute the model plan to each State. The plan developed under paragraph

(1)shall include— methodologies, tools, and data sources for identifying and evaluating highway-rail grade crossing safety risks, including the public safety risks posed by blocked highway-rail grade crossings due to idling trains; best practices to reduce the risk of highway-rail grade crossing accidents or incidents and to alleviate the blockage of highway-rail grade crossings due to idling trains, including strategies for— education, including model stakeholder engagement plans or tools; engineering, including the benefits and costs of different designs and technologies used to mitigate highway-rail grade crossing safety risks; and enforcement, including the strengths and weaknesses associated with different enforcement methods; for each State, a customized list and data set of the highway-rail grade crossing accidents or incidents in that State over the past 3 years, including the location, number of deaths, and number of injuries for each accident or incident; and contact information of a Department of Transportation safety official available to assist the State in adapting the model plan to satisfy the requirements under subsection (b). Not later than 18 months after the Secretary develops and distributes the model plan under subsection (a), the Secretary shall promulgate a rule that requires— each State, except the 10 States identified under section 202 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 ( 49 U.S.C. 22501 note), to develop and implement a State highway-rail grade crossing action plan; and each State that was identified under section 202 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 ( 49 U.S.C. 22501 note), to update its State action plan under that section and submit to the Secretary the updated State action plan and a report describing what the State did to implement its previous State action plan under that section and how it will continue to reduce highway-rail grade crossing safety risks. Each State plan required under this subsection shall— identify highway-rail grade crossings that have experienced recent highway-rail grade crossing accidents or incidents, or are at high-risk for accidents or incidents; identify specific strategies for improving safety at highway-rail grade crossings, including highway-rail grade crossing closures or grade separations; and designate a State official responsible for managing implementation of the State plan under subparagraph

(A)or

(B)of paragraph (1), as applicable. The Secretary shall provide assistance to each State in developing and carrying out, as appropriate, the State plan under this subsection. Each State shall submit its final State plan under this subsection to the Secretary for publication. The Secretary shall make each approved State plan publicly available on an official Internet Web site. The Secretary may condition the awarding of a grant to a State under chapter 244 of title 49, United States Code, on that State submitting an acceptable State plan under this subsection. Not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a State plan under this subsection, the Secretary shall— if the State plan is approved, notify the State and publish the State plan under paragraph (4); and if the State plan is incomplete or deficient, notify the State of the specific areas in which the plan is deficient and allow the State to complete the plan or correct the deficiencies and resubmit the plan under paragraph (1). Not later than 60 days after the date of a notice under paragraph (6)(B), a State shall complete the plan or correct the deficiencies and resubmit the plan. If a State fails to meet the deadline under paragraph (7), the Secretary shall post on the Web site under paragraph

(4)a notice that the State has an incomplete or deficient highway-rail grade crossing action plan. The Secretary may use funds made available to carry out section 130 of title 23, United States Code, to provide States with funds to develop a State highway-rail grade crossing action plan under subsection (b)(1)(A) of this section or to update a State action plan under subsection (b)(1)(B) of this section. In this section: The term highway-rail grade crossing means a location within a State, other than a location where 1 or more railroad tracks cross 1 or more railroad tracks at grade, where— a public highway, road, or street, or a private roadway, including associated sidewalks and pathways, crosses 1 or more railroad tracks either at grade or grade-separated; or a pathway explicitly authorized by a public authority or a railroad carrier that is dedicated for the use of non-vehicular traffic, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and others, that is not associated with a public highway, road, or street, or a private roadway, crosses 1 or more railroad tracks either at grade or grade-separated. The term State means a State of the United States or the District of Columbia.

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49 USC 22501

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Sec. 35401

Highway-rail grade crossing safety

Cite49 USC 22501

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