Public Safety Communications &
Railroad Interaction Standard
Operating Procedures
NENA Public Safety Communications & Railroad Interaction Standard Operating Procedures
NENA-STA-013.2-2016 (originally NENA 56-507)
DSC Approval: 10/20/2015
PRC Approval: 01/29/2016
NENA Executive Board Approval: 02/11/2016
ANSI Approved: 03/31/2016
Next Scheduled Review Date: 02/11/2019
Prepared by:
National Emergency Number Association (NENA) PSAP Operations Committee, PSAP Operations
Standard Operating Procedures Subcommittee, Railroad/PSAP Interaction Working Group
Published by NENA
Printed in USA
NENA Public Safety Communications & Railroad Interaction Standard Operating Procedures
NENA-STA-013.2-2016 (originally NENA 56-507)
March 31, 2016
03/31/2016 Page 2 of 43
NENA
STANDARD DOCUMENT
NOTICE
This Standard Document (STA) is published by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
as an information source for the designers, manufacturers, administrators and operators of systems to be
utilized for the purpose of processing emergency calls. It is not intended to provide complete design or
operation specifications or parameters or to assure the quality of performance for systems that process
such equipment or services.
NENA reserves the right to revise this Standard Document for any reason including, but not limited to:
• Conformity with criteria or standards promulgated by various agencies,
• Utilization of advances in the state of the technical arts,
• Or to reflect changes in the design of equipment, network interfaces or services described herein.
This document is an information source for the voluntary use of communication centers. It is not
intended to be a complete operational directive.
It is possible that certain advances in technology or changes in governmental regulations will precede
these revisions. All NENA documents are subject to change as technology or other influencing factors
change. Therefore, this NENA document should not be the only source of information used. NENA
recommends that readers contact their 9-1-1 System Service Provider (9-1-1 SSP) representative to
ensure compatibility with the 9-1-1 network, and their legal counsel to ensure compliance with current
regulations.
Patents may cover the specifications, techniques, or network interface/system characteristics disclosed
herein. No license expressed or implied is hereby granted. This document shall not be construed as a
suggestion to any manufacturer to modify or change any of its products, nor does this document
represent any commitment by NENA or any affiliate thereof to purchase any product whether or not it
provides the described characteristics.
This document has been prepared solely for the use of 9-1-1 System Service Providers, network interface
and system vendors, participating telephone companies, 9-1-1 Authorities, etc.
By using this document, the user agrees that NENA will have no liability for any consequential,
incidental, special, or punitive damages arising from use of the document.
NENA’s Committees have developed this document. Recommendations for change to this document
may be submitted to:
National Emergency Number Association
1700 Diagonal Rd, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314
202.466.4911
© Copyright 2016 National Emergency Number Association, Inc.
NENA Public Safety Communications & Railroad Interaction Standard Operating Procedures
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) PSAP Operations Committee, PSAP
Operations Standard Operating Procedures Subcommittee, Railroad/PSAP Interaction Working
Group developed this document.
NENA recognizes the following industry experts and their employers for their contributions in
development of this document.
Executive Board Approval Date: 02/11/2016 ANSI Approved: 03/31/2016
Members Employer
Wendi Lively, ENP, PSAP
Operations Committee Co-Chair
Spartanburg County SC
April Heinze, ENP, PSAP Operations
Committee Co-Chair
Eaton County MI
Lisa Dodson, ENP, WG Co-Chair Tiburon Inc.
Marc Berryman, ENP, WG Co-Chair Mission Critical Partners Inc.
Andrew Trygg Public Safety Training Consultants - 911 Cares
Angela Potenziano Hillsborough County FL
Brad Reinert, ENP Montgomery County PA
Catherine Udenberg Columbia County WA
Cherie Bartram, ENP South East Regional Emergency Services Authority
Gordon Chinander, GISP Metropolitan Emergency Services Board MN
Jim Shepard, ENP 911 Datamaster Inc.
John Haynes Chester County PA
Keith Ducett Jr. Onondaga County Emergency Communications NY
Melissa Tutton, ENP City of Plano TX
Michael Vislocky Network Orange Inc.
Michail Grizkewitsch Federal Railroad Administration
Mike Davis, RPL Ulster County NY
Pete Eggimann, ENP Metropolitan Emergency Services Board MN
Raquel Hunt Federal Railroad Administration
Roger Hixson, ENP NENA
Ron Bonneau, ENP Kent County MI
Sharon Clever Routt County CO
Sonia Moeller Town of Brunswick ME
Stephen O'Conor, ENP Synergem Technologies Inc.
Trevor Knight City of Anaheim CA
Ty Wooten, ENP NENA
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Special Acknowledgements:
Delaine Arnold ENP, Committee Resource Manager, has facilitated the production of this document
through the prescribed approval process.
The Railroad/PSAP Interaction Working Group Working Group is part of the NENA Development
Group that is led by:
• Pete Eggimann ENP and Jim Shepard ENP, Development Steering Council Co-Chairs
• Roger Hixson ENP, Technical Issues Director
• Chris Carver ENP, PSAP Operations Director
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Table of Contents
1 EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 7
2 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 7
2.1 OPERATIONS IMPACTS SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 TECHNICAL IMPACTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 SECURITY IMPACTS SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 8 2.4 DOCUMENT TERMINOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 9 2.5 REASON FOR ISSUE/REISSUE ................................................................................................................................. 9 2.6 RECOMMENDATION FOR ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORK .............................................................................. 9 2.7 DATE COMPLIANCE .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2.8 ANTICIPATED TIMELINE ........................................................................................................................................ 9 2.9 COST FACTORS ................................................................................................................................................... 10 2.10 COST RECOVERY CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................... 10 2.11 ADDITIONAL IMPACTS (NON-COST RELATED)................................................................................................. 10 2.12 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) POLICY .......................................................................................... 10 2.13 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS, TERMS AND DEFINITIONS ............................................................................... 11
3 RAILROAD AND PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT (PSAP) INTERACTION ......................... 12
3.1 RAILROAD CONTACTING PSAPS......................................................................................................................... 12 3.2 HOW RAILROAD AGENTS OR RAILROAD PERSONNEL CONTACT PSAPS ............................................................. 12 3.3 IF RAILROAD PERSONNEL ARE ON-SCENE ........................................................................................................... 13 3.4 IF THE RAILROAD PERSONNEL OR AUTHORIZED AGENT IS AT A CENTRALIZED LOCATION ................................. 13 3.5 INFORMATION NEEDED BY PSAPS ...................................................................................................................... 13
3.5.1 Location of incident .................................................................................................................................. 13 3.5.2 Type of incident ........................................................................................................................................ 14 3.5.3 Caller Information .................................................................................................................................... 15 3.5.4 Additional Incident Location Information ................................................................................................ 16
3.6 PSAPS CONTACTING RAILROADS ....................................................................................................................... 16 3.7 HOW SHOULD PSAP PERSONNEL CONTACT RAILROADS .................................................................................... 17
3.7.1 Railroad Reference Information ............................................................................................................... 18 3.8 INFORMATION PROVIDED TO RAILROAD OR APPROVED AGENT ......................................................................... 18
3.8.1 Location of Occurrence (supply as much as possible) (Ask RR Contacts of preferred order of location
information) ............................................................................................................................................................ 18 3.9 CALLER INFORMATION ....................................................................................................................................... 19 3.10 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION (TO BE SUPPLIED WHEN AVAILABLE) ............................................................. 20
4 LIGHT PASSENGER RAIL ........................................................................................................................... 20
5 TRAINING REQUIREMENTS...................................................................................................................... 20
5.1 PSAP .................................................................................................................................................................. 20 5.2 RAILROAD .......................................................................................................................................................... 20
6 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS) ............................................................................................ 21
7 NENA REGISTRY SYSTEM (NRS) CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................................ 22
8 DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NENA XML SCHEMA .......... 22
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9 RECOMMENDED READING AND REFERENCES .................................................................................. 22
10 PREVIOUS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... 23
EXHIBIT A: CLASS 1 RAILROAD EMERGENCY TABLE ............................................................................. 24
EXHIBIT B: TYPE OF RAILROAD INCIDENT ................................................................................................ 25
EXHIBIT C: TYPE OF RAILROAD INCIDENT ................................................................................................ 31
EXHIBIT D: FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION DEFINITION OF “TRESPASSER” ................ 36
EXHIBIT E: FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION’S SPATIAL DATA ............................................ 37
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1 Executive Overview
Railroads travel through tens of thousands of local jurisdictions serviced by approximately 30,000
local emergency response agencies. As a result of moving heavy equipment through multiple
jurisdictions, there are incidents which require local emergency response assistance.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2014 there were over 2000 highway-rail grade
crossing incidents resulting in over 230 deaths and 763 injuries. Additionally, in 2014 there were
over 850 railroad trespasser incidents resulting in almost 500 deaths.
Along with the almost 8,000 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reportable accidents and
incidents, there are approximately 1.7 million car loads of hazardous materials transported in North
America every year. Local emergency responders are required to respond to the approximately 40 -
50 accident caused releases of hazardous materials and another 600 – 700 non-accident releases of
hazardous materials every year in the US and Canada. In addition, passenger trains have health
related emergencies traveling through local jurisdictions which require medical assistance, or
problems with unruly passengers which require police interaction.
Sometimes these incidents are reported by a local citizen to a local emergency response agency
requiring the emergency response agency to contact the railroad. Sometimes the incident is first
reported by the railroad to the emergency response agency. One key difference from other reports to
and from local emergency response agencies is that the location of the incident is not tied to a
specific address. The location along a railroad is dependent upon the owner of the railroad and the
mile post. The mile post is a sequential mile marker (note that there are not always physical mile
posts along the railroad right-of-way) similar to what is on an interstate system, however, the mile
posts are tied to the owning railroad’s naming protocols. It is important that railroads are able to
communicate the location of incidents to local emergency responders, and vice versa. In addition,
most of the freight rail traffic in the US is handled by the seven larger carriers. These carriers
generally dispatch traffic from central dispatch centers, and often there is no railroad office or
contact located within a local jurisdiction. This means central dispatch centers cannot call 9-1-1
when contacting an emergency response agency and must have a 10-digit phone number to contact
the local agency. Likewise, the general public often does not know who owns the tracks on which
an incident has occurred, and hence a local emergency response agency might not know that
information when reporting an incident to a railroad. This document describes a protocol for
communicating between railroads and emergency response agencies to make the process of getting
assistance to incidents along rail lines as efficient and effective as possible. Introduction
2 Introduction
This document provides guidance and relevant information for operational interaction between
public safety answering points (PSAPs), public safety communications, railroad call centers,
railroad-sworn personnel in the field, and related railroad responders.
PSAPs may receive emergency calls from railroad call centers, railroad-sworn personnel or similar
parties relating to railroad incidents. PSAPs must interact with railroad call centers and other railroad
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personnel when the PSAP becomes aware of an incident requiring emergency assistance involving a
railroad.
Emergency response agencies generally respond to calls from the public by responding to an address
or street intersection. Railroad incidents generally do not have a street address and instead use a mile
post or crossing identification system to describe their location. Railroad dispatch centers and
operations control centers are generally centrally located. This means a railroad responding to, or
reporting an emergency, may be located in a state other than where the incident occurred.
This poses communication challenges to the railroads and local emergency response agencies. These
challenges can be overcome by having proper communication protocols in place before an
accident/incident occurs. This document defines an effective communication protocol between
railroads and local emergency response agencies.
This Standard is intended to aid Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP), railroad communication
centers, and railroad personnel in the development and implementation of standard operating
procedures for emergency communications protocols pertaining to railroad and railroad related
emergencies.
2.1 Operations Impacts Summary
Unfamiliarity with railroad nomenclature and processes may cause miscommunication between
agencies. Creating, implementing and training PSAP personnel to standard operating procedures will
allow effective communications with railroad and railroad related personnel.
This will require PSAPs to develop operational policies for managing railroad personnel
interactions, as well as incorporate new techniques into telecommunicator training curriculum. This
may create new or additional tasks for telecommunicators that will impact a PSAP’s current
operations. PSAP management should identify, review, and address all potential operational
interactions with railroad call centers and similar railroad related personnel, in order to provide
telecommunicators with the proper tools and processes to effectively interact; these may include
training, SOP development, and implementation of the SOPs.
2.2 Technical Impacts Summary
PSAPs should have Internet access to obtain web based services that contain railroad related
information.
PSAPs should integrate railroad spatial data into their map displays and update regularly.
Local grade crossing information needs to be field verified by local entities. Discrepancies in
positional accuracy between PSAPs and the railroad spatial data should be reported to the Federal
Railroad Administration.
2.3 Security Impacts Summary
The railroads may have PSAP 10 digit numbers that are not intended for public knowledge and
should not be shared with any other agencies or the general public. PSAPs may have confidential
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information related to rail road operations and contact information that must also be considered
private and confidential. Due to responder safety, all information shared between the PSAP and
railroad personnel should be considered confidential and for official business only.
If there are any questions in regards to a caller being associated with a PSAP or with a railroad, the
agency should follow their established procedures for verifying the identity of a caller.
2.4 Document Terminology
The terms "shall", "must", "mandatory", and "required" are used throughout this document to
indicate normative requirements and to differentiate from those parameters that are
recommendations. Recommendations are identified by the words "should", "may", "desirable" or
"preferable".
2.5 Reason for Issue/Reissue
NENA reserves the right to modify this document. Upon revision, the reason(s) will be provided in
the table below.
Document Number Approval Date Reason For Changes
NENA 56-507 04/28/2009 Initial Document
NENA-STA-013.2-2016 03/31/2016 Document is being reissued due to age and ANSI
approved in order to comply with industry
changes and evolution.
2.6 Recommendation for Additional Development Work
This document is intended to provide support to public safety and railroad personnel during incidents
on, or near, railroad properties and related right of ways. There may be a need for development of
additional operations or technical standards as a result of this Standard.
Evolving technology will require this Standard to be revisited yearly to determine if additional
information needs to be added or obsolete information removed from this standard.
2.7 Date Compliance
All systems that are associated with the 9-1-1 process shall be designed and engineered to ensure
that no detrimental, or other noticeable impact of any kind, will occur as a result of a date/time
change up to 30 years subsequent to the manufacture of the system. This shall include embedded
application(s), computer-based or any other type application.
2.8 Anticipated Timeline
NENA, 9-1-1 and specific Federal entities promotion of this standard will assist in this standard
gaining acceptance.
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2.9 Cost Factors
With the implementation of this standard, there may be fiscal impact to PSAP operations. This
Standard provides recommendations for incorporating new procedures into existing agency policies
as well as additional training for telecommunicators. PSAP management should review this standard
to determine the best manner to implement. Implementation of this standard may incur cost to the
PSAP or 9-1-1 Governing Authority, related to:
• PSAP awareness
• Training
• SOP Development
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data updating
• Integration of new technologies into the PSAP
• PSAP Security considerations for accessing the Internet
2.10 Cost Recovery Considerations
Normal business practices applicable to the local PSAP or 9-1-1 authorities shall be assumed to be
the cost recovery mechanism.
2.11 Additional Impacts (non-cost related)
The information and requirements contained in this NENA document may have 9-1-1 center
operational impacts.
2.12 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy
NOTE – The user’s attention is called to the possibility that compliance with this standard may
require use of an invention covered by patent rights. By publication of this standard, NENA takes
no position with respect to the validity of any such claim(s) or of any patent rights in connection
therewith. If a patent holder has filed a statement of willingness to grant a license under these
rights on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions to applicants desiring to obtain
such a license, then details may be obtained from NENA by contacting the Committee Resource
Manager identified on NENA’s website at www.nena.org/ipr.
Consistent with the NENA IPR Policy, available at www.nena.org/ipr, NENA invites any interested
party to bring to its attention any copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement this standard.
Please address the information to:
National Emergency Number Association
1700 Diagonal Rd, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314
202.466.4911
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2.13 Acronyms/Abbreviations, Terms and Definitions
See NENA-ADM-000, NENA Master Glossary of 9-1-1 Terminology, located on the NENA web
site for a complete listing of terms used in NENA documents. All acronyms used in this document
are listed below, along with any new or updated terms and definitions.
Term or
Abbreviation
(Expansion)
Definition / Description **New
(N) /
Update
(U)
AAR (Association
of American
Railroads)
N
ASLRAA
(American Short
Line Railroad
Association)
N
BTS (Bureau of
Transportation
Statistics)
N
CPR (Cardio
Pulmonary
Resuscitation)
DOT (Department
of Transportation)
EMS (Emergency
Medical Service)
ENS (Emergency
Notification System)
EOC (Emergency
Operations Center)
ETA (Estimated
Time of Arrival)
FCC (Federal
Communications
Commission)
FIPS (Federal
Information
Processing
Standards)
FRA (Federal
Railroad
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Term or
Abbreviation
(Expansion)
Definition / Description **New
(N) /
Update
(U)
Administration)
GIS (Geographic
Information System)
Nlets (National Law
Enforcement
Telecommunications
System)
Pantograph A jointed framework conveying a current to a train,
streetcar or other electric vehicle from overhead wires.
N
POI (Point of
Impact)
N
PSAP (Public Safety
Answering Point)
An entity responsible for receiving 9-1-1 calls and
processing those calls according to a specific operational
policy
US DOT Grade
Crossing Number
A crossing inventory number containing six digits
followed be an alphabetical letter.
N
USDOT (United
States Department
of Transportation)
3 Railroad and Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Interaction
3.1 Railroad Contacting PSAPs
Railroads or railroad personnel or their authorized agents may need to contact the PSAP for many
reasons including:
• Any emergency needing response from the local law enforcement, fire department or
emergency medical services (EMS)
• When an incident has occurred that could adversely affect the public
• When a train will be blocking a crossing or crossings for an extended period of time, e.g.
30 minutes or more
3.2 How Railroad Agents or Railroad Personnel Contact PSAPs
Railroad personnel or authorized railroad agents may contact the correct PSAP through:
• NENA PSAP Registry
• Railroad produced contact list of verified PSAP 10 digit emergency numbers.
• Working with local PSAPs, emergency response agencies or Emergency Management
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Agencies to obtain the local PSAP contact information.
o After contacting the local PSAP the railroad and PSAP should work together to establish
a “priority” ten digit number for the railroads and their authorized agents to contact the
PSAP. This “priority” ten-digit number should be a number that is answered 24/7, since
railroad entities may not be local, but are calling on behalf of a local railroad incident. It
must be clear to the railroads this number is not to be shared with outside entities, agents
or personnel for any reason.
• Commercially available lists of PSAPs
o Caution: PSAP jurisdictional areas change often due to a number of factors. Railroad
personnel and authorized agents must be aware that commercially available lists of PSAP
phone numbers and PSAP jurisdictional areas should always be considered suspect.
PSAP’s rarely provide their 10 digit emergency numbers to anyone and PSAP and
emergency services boundaries are in a constant state of flux.
3.3 If Railroad Personnel are On-scene
Call 9-1-1 and provide location information, either by a physical address, cross streets, nearest grade
crossing, identifiable landmarks, railroad milepost and subdivision or longitude and latitude
coordinates. Stay on the phone with the PSAP until emergency services are on scene.
3.4 If the Railroad Personnel or Authorized agent is at a Centralized Location
Determine the PSAP associated with the location of the incident. Call the PSAP for the given
location, and provide location information, either by a physical address, cross streets, nearest grade
crossing, identifiable landmarks, railroad milepost and subdivision or longitude and latitude
coordinates. Stay on the phone with the PSAP until emergency services are on scene.
3.5 Information needed by PSAPs
When providing information to a PSAP, avoid industry jargon or codes. Use clear text or plain
English. The following questions are generic in nature, and are only guidelines. The nature of the
incident will vary dependent on the situation and your PSAP’s procedures. The following
information should be used as a guide to assess the incident with information that should be provided
to the PSAP:
3.5.1 Location of incident
• Address, Street, Community, Landmark, National Grid, Cross Street(s), distance
and direction from nearest rail grade crossing, grade crossing number, location of
incident or longitude and latitude of incident.
• Accessibility of location
• Single railcar or multiple railcars involved in incident
• Is the train involved still moving or will it be stopping, if so where will it stop
• Current location of the engine and involved railcars
• Current location of Conductor
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• Current location of the engine and any non-rail vehicles
3.5.2 Type of incident
Do not delay initiating a call to the PSAP due to lacking of any of the particulars listed below. The
list below is recommendations, individual PSAP’s may vary.
• Nature of Incident
• Accident
o Derailment,
o Auto vs train accident
• Crime
o Burglary
o Suspicious activity
o Terrorist
• Any known injuries
o Estimated number of injuries
o Medical details
o Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) initiated
• Type of response requested
o Law Enforcement
o Fire
o Medical
o Hazmat
• Type of Train
o Passenger
o Freight
o Other
• Is the train stopped
• Has all other train traffic on the line been stopped
• Any active fires
• Hazardous materials involved
o Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazmat placard number(s)
o Hazardous material name
o Manifest available
o Derailed, leaking or suspect car
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o Estimate rate of release
• How many crossings are blocked and the crossing(s) location information
• Railcars involved
• How many cars total on the train
• Railway infrastructure damage (may or may not involve a railway incident)
• Damage to existing infrastructure, i.e. adjacent utilities
• If weapons related incident, do we know what they are
• Suspect/Victim Information
o Name
o Physical Descriptor - Usually from head to toe
o Sex
o Race
o Hair
o Clothing
o etc.
• What other agencies have been notified (security, hazards, DOT, etc.)
• Additional railroad units dispatched and estimated time of arrival (ETA)
• Vehicle Information (this could be either suspect or victim vehicle)
o Vehicle Description
o C=Color
o Y=Year
o M=Make
o B=Body Style
o A=Additional Descriptors
o L=License Plate
o S=State
3.5.3 Caller Information
• Name of caller or rail communication center
• 10-digit call back number
• Are you at the scene
• Name or Operator ID and the name of the railroad
• Agency and/or railroad of caller
• Alternate 10-digit call back number
• Agency's/railroad’s service report number (case number, incident #)
• Any contact with persons on train
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• Has railroad set up “command” on site
• If so, contact information of on-site command
3.5.4 Additional Incident Location Information
• What grade crossings will be blocked (footprint of incident)
• Estimate of how long grade crossings be blocked, i.e. ETA of clearing
• Any waterway(s) affected
• Which waterways
• How affected
• Is incident near a municipality or in a rural area
• Additional hazards adjacent or within proximity of the incident i.e. chemical plants, public
facilities, public access areas
• Any visible overhead facilities or structures that may be impacted
• Any barriers to reaching the incident scene that responders need to be aware of
3.6 PSAPs Contacting Railroads
• Any time emergency responders are handling an active emergency in the vicinity
of the railroad tracks or the railroad right-of-way
• Any time first responders are operating on railroad property or adjacent to railroad
property or right-of-way where there is a potential for railroad equipment to come
into contact with personnel
• Any time a local emergency response agency identifies an accident/incident or unsafe
condition on railroad property or adjacent to railroad property or right-of-way
• Any time active criminal activity or a threat is reported on railroad property or adjacent
to railroad property or right-of-way
• Railroad signal malfunctions impeding traffic flow
• Check with the railroad personnel to determine if there is a reason the
signals are remaining in the down position
• When a crime scene or on-going emergency operations are within the railroad
right-of-way1
• When train service may be passing through a plume of toxic or hazardous material
1 Railroad right-of-ways are defined in 43 U.S. Code §934: “The right of way through the public lands of the United States is
granted to any railroad company duly organized under the laws of any State or Territory, except the District of Columbia, or by
the Congress of the United States, which shall have filed with the Secretary of the Interior a copy of its articles of
incorporation, and due proofs of its organization under the same, to the extent of one hundred feet on each side of the central
line of said road; also the right to take, from the public lands adjacent to the line of said road, material, earth, stone, and timber
necessary for the construction of said railroad; also ground adjacent to such right of way for station buildings, depots, machine
shops, side tracks, turnouts, and water stations, not to exceed in amount twenty acres for each station, to the extent of one
station for each ten miles of its road.”
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• When you are unsure if it involves the railroad property or adjacent right-of-way,
contact the railroad companies to make them aware
3.7 How Should PSAP Personnel Contact Railroads
Generally, grade crossing signs have the operation control center phone numbers posted on the sign,
along with a crossing number identifying the specific crossing. The table below provides the Class 1
railroad carriers names and contact numbers at the time this document was published. These
numbers may change without any notice being provided to the PSAPs. These Class 1 contact
numbers should be verified on a monthly basis.
In some areas the railroad that owns the track may have operating agreements with other railroads
that need to be contacted in the event of an incident. When making notification of a rail incident,
PSAPs should contact the central dispatch center for the railroad track, as they are responsible for
monitoring the traffic along that track. Information may be gathered to assist in pre-planning by
referencing the following:
- The Emergency Notification Sign posted at the highway railway grade crossing
- National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (Nlets), updated frequently
- FRA Grade Crossing locator application
Class 1 Railroad Emergency Telephone Numbers:
Amtrak 800-331-0008
BNSF Railway 800-832-5452
CN Railway 800-465-9239
Canadian Pacific Railway 800-716-9132
CSX Transportation 800-232-0144
Kansas City Southern Railroad 877-527-9464
Norfolk Southern Corporation 800-453-2530
Union Pacific Railroad 888-877-7267
Other railroads contact information may
be found at: www.aslrra.org/home/index.cfm
Non-Class 1 railroad contact numbers are available through the Association of American Railroads
at: https://www.aar.org/
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3.7.1 Railroad Reference Information
It is important that PSAPs check with the railroads in their jurisdiction and keep the
information up to date. There may be other railroads in the area for which verification of
contact information is needed.
PSAPs can locate information on railroads operating in their jurisdictions by visiting the Federal
Railroad Administration’s (FRA) website at www.fra.dot.gov. Grading crossing and spatial data is
available from FRA as a download. Additionally, a smartphone application is available for iOS and
Android systems to quickly identify contact information for grade crossings.
At the time of this document revision, FRA, in partnership with the National Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (Nlets), is developing the ability for emergency response agencies to
query via Nlets against the FRA’s Grade Crossing Inventory Records System. This will provide
PSAPs and emergency responders with pertinent information on requested grade crossings to assist
with response and appropriate notifications. The anticipated completion of this project is expected
to be Spring 2016. PSAPs with access to Nlets should contact their state Nlets agency for additional
information.
3.8 Information Provided to Railroad or Approved Agent
3.8.1 Location of Occurrence (supply as much as possible) (Ask RR Contacts of preferred
order of location information)
• City, County, State
• US DOT grade crossing number for the nearest street or road crossing the tracks2
• What street(s) cross the tracks (if the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)
crossing number is not available)
• Milepost (Railroad Subdivision if known)
• Crossing locations
• Nearest cross-street, identify street name alias as well as common name (IH 35 = Main St in
town)
• Distance and compass direction from nearest crossing
• Nearest rail station (if known)
• GPS latitude and longitude
• Nature of the Call (Call Type)
• Do trains need to be stopped or slowed down? (if unsure, explain situation)
• Give Railroad brief details of incident (Law Enforcement, Fire, Medical, Hazmat,
2 The USDOT number is posted on every public and private highway-rail grade crossing. The Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) has developed a smart phone Rail Crossing Locator app. This app can be used to locate highway-rail grade crossings
and then explore detailed information from the USDOT's grade crossing database(s) including inventory records submitted by
states and railroads, and accident history records. Users can also select from multiple base maps and identify railroad crossings
by characteristics. The app can be downloaded from http://fra.dot.gov/Page/P0703
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weapons, vehicle on tracks, suspect being pursued, other, etc.)
• Is there damage done to railroad property, (signal box, gates, crossbars, railroad
cars/locomotive)
• If suspect is being pursued, need to know if they are potentially armed and their
direction of travel. (Railroad may ask additional questions)
• Any known injuries
• Notification of public safety personnel on scene or responding
• Is anyone (or vehicle or equipment) actually on the tracks or near the tracks
If the incident is on the tracks, the railroad will stop trains. Do not assume railroad is shut down
until confirmed by controlling railroad. Trains do not stop immediately and all tracks should be
considered live unless otherwise advised. Expect trains from either direction of a track.
Note: PSAPs should add railroad companies to their emergency notification procedures to make
them aware of when a train may be entering a hazardous area. PSAPs should consider using
Emergency Notification Systems (ENS) when there are railroad right–of-way incidents. ENS would
also be useful for notifying the public when railroad equipment is blocking roadways for an
extended period of time.
3.9 Caller Information
• Name (Last, First or Operator/Dispatcher #)
• Agency of caller
• Call back number
• Agency's service report number (case number, incident number)
• Is there an “incident commander” on site? If so, contact information
• Identify who is handling the call (which agency) and if they are on the tracks.
• Is there any other additional critical information
• Provide additional contact numbers for public safety personnel on the scene (Point of Impact
(POI), Emergency Operation Center (EOC) personnel)
• Provide e-mail, instant messaging and additional methods of communication with incident
command or other public safety personnel
• If Public Safety asks railroad to slow or stop trains, Public Safety must call the railroad
as soon as possible to resume normal traffic. Railroad dispatch is authorization point for
train crew to slow, stop or start up trains
• Railroad would like a rough time of delay (need to get alternate transportation etc. for
passengers if delay is long)
• The PSAP is responsible to notify the railroad when track is cleared of Public Safety
activity
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Do not ask railroads to stop trains unless absolutely necessary. Stopping train traffic is more
complicated than closing a freeway and can result in traffic problems for hundreds of miles
immediately, and a thousand miles in a few hours.
3.10 Supplemental Information (to be supplied when available)
• Are there any hazardous materials involved
• PSAP should pass along information if they are aware of any hazardous materials involved
• PSAPs should ask the railroad if the area of track involved in an incident is electrified
4 Light Passenger Rail
Light Rail systems are a transit mode that is typically an electric railway with a light volume traffic
capacity compared to heavy rail and are characterized by:
• Passenger rail cars operating singly (or in short, usually two car, trains) on fixed rails in
shared or exclusive right-of-ways
• Low or high platform loading; and
• Vehicle power drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley or a pantograph
Light rail systems are covered under the Federal Transit Administration, and as such, this standard
does not presently apply to light rail agency interaction. PSAPs should discuss responses and best
practices with their local light rail agency.
5 Training Requirements
5.1 PSAP
No-cost training materials are available for download for training PSAP personnel and
educating PSAP communities from Operation Lifesaver, Inc. These materials can be found
on their website at www.oli.org.
It is recommended that the material contained within this NENA standard document be incorporated
into Telecommunicator training materials.
At the time of this document revision, the Federal Railroad Administration was in the process of
developing no-cost training to be made available to the PSAP and emergency responder community.
It is anticipated that this material will be available Spring 2016.
5.2 Railroad
Materials from this Standard Document should be included in Railroad Operations Control Center
personnel training materials.
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6 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are the RRs private or publicly owned?
Mostly railroads are privately owned. There are a few railroads which are publicly owned such as
the Alaska Railroad, but the vast majority are privately owned. Railroad property should be
considered private property.
Are the train and the tracks always owned by the same company? If different, who do we
contact?
Sometimes trains operate on tracks owned by other railroads under trackage rights or haulage rights.
Most agreements assign emergency response to the railroad which owns the tracks, so the owning
railroad should be contacted in the event of an emergency. The owning railroad will get the
operating railroad involved as appropriate.
What is a US DOT Number?
A crossing inventory number containing six digits followed by an alphabetical letter
The numbers are generated using a special algorithm where the alphabetical letter is a check
character to ensure that the number is a valid.
The number is like a “street-name sign” and should be posted on both sides of the crossing on the
signal mast, crossbuck post, sign post or pole, or it could even be spray painted on a railroad tie.
What is ENS?
Emergency Notification Systems (ENS) utilized by PSAPs are systems used to notify persons of an
emergency. These systems may include changeable message signs, sirens, telephone and other
media. These systems enable the PSAP to make mass notification to their community of incidents
that may impact citizen safety.
Emergency Notification Systems (ENS) utilized by railroad carriers are toll-free telephone services
that railroad carriers are required to establish and maintain that enable the public to report certain
unsafe conditions at highway rail and pathway grade crossings through which it dispatches trains.
What do the railroad Mileposts measure to/from?
Railroad mileposts are measured from a variety of landmarks depending upon the railroad and
location. Some railroads measure mileposts from origination of the railroad. Others have other
naming criteria based on division/subdivision. PSAPs can contact the Federal Railroad
Administration for spatial data containing milepost data. This data should be validated locally.
How long/far does it take to stop an average train moving 50 mph?
A rule of thumb is that it takes a mile to stop a freight train. Of course that depends upon trailing
tonnage, grade and train speed. PSAPs should be aware that the initial incident location and the
response location may end up being quite a distance apart depending on the speed/weight of the
train.
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7 NENA Registry System (NRS) Considerations
Not Applicable
8 Documentation Required for the Development of a NENA XML Schema
Not Applicable
9 Recommended Reading and References
• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) website:
www.fra.dot.gov
• FRA’s Railroad Crossings website:
safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/crossing/crossing.aspx
• FRA’s GIS Web Application website:
fragis.fra.dot.gov/GISFRASafety
• FRA’s GIS Crossings & Publicly Available GIS Data
www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publicat
ions/national_transportation_atlas_database/index.html
• A list of state laws can be found at:
www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0693
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website to convert Latitude/Longitude in
Degrees/Minutes/second to/from Decimal Latitude/Longitude Decimal
www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html
• General information about datum’s:
www.ngs.noaa.gov/faq.shtml
• Association of American Railroads (AAR) website: (Note: all AAR member’s web sites
are available through AAR’s web site):
https://www.aar.org/
• American Short Line Railroad Association (ASLRRA) website:
www.aslrra.org/home/index.cfm
• American Public Transportation Association website:
www.apta.com
• For information and training about Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Collisions
and Railroad Trespass issues visit www.oli.org
• NENA PSAP Registry. Access limited, for access contact NENA.
• Operation Lifesaver website: (a non-profit, international continuing public education
program first established in 1972 to end collisions, deaths and injuries at places where
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roadways cross train tracks, and on railroad rights-of-way)
www.oli.org
• Citizens for Rail Security, a railroad version of Neighborhood Watch. (There is a section
for law enforcement)
www.citizensforrailsecurity.com
10 Previous Acknowledgments
NENA-56-507, Executive Board Approval Date, 04/28/2009
Members: Company/Agency
Barbara Thornburg, ENP NENA
Amy Bedford Greater Harris County 9-1-1, TX
Ben Pedersen Union Pacific Railroad
Bob Fronczak Association of American Railroads
Cliff Cordani Amtrak
David Lariviere Canadian Pacific Rail
Dick Solie Profile Evaluations
Gerry Fish Canadian Pacific Railway
Gordon Chinander, GISP Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, MN
John Garcia Norfolk Southern Railway
Marc Berryman Greater Harris County 9-1-1, TX
Melissa Tutton, ENP City of Plano 9-1-1, TX
Michael Snowden, ENP St. Charles County, MO
Michail Grizkewitsch Federal Railroad Administration
Michelle Jennings Amtrak
Monte Zillinger BNSF Railway
Raquel Wright Federal Railroad Administration
Sam Raab CSX Railroad
Steve Brooks, ENP Synergem
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Exhibit A: Class 1 Railroad Emergency Table
Railroad Emergency Telephone
Number
Web Site
Amtrak 800-331-0008 www.amtrak.com
BNSF Railway 800-832-5452 www.bnsf.com
CN 800-465-9239 www.cn.ca
Canadian Pacific 800-716-9132 www.cpr.ca
CSX Transportation 800-232-0144 www.csx.com
Kansas City
Southern
877-527-9464 www.kcsouthern.com
Norfolk Southern 800-453-2530 www.nscorp.com
Union Pacific 888-877-7267 www.up.com
Other railroads contact information may
be found at:
www.aslrra.org
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Exhibit B: Type of Railroad Incident
Type of Incident Incident Description
Vehicle on Track Used for incidents where vehicles (autos, trucks,
eighteen wheelers, etc.) become stuck or stalled on the
tracks (requiring action to prevent a potential Crossing
Accident).
Environmental Incident Used for incidents where a non-regulated, non-
hazardous material is released. Environmental Incidents
include a release of diesel fuel; lube oil; white powder on
the tracks; venting tank cars.
Derailment Used for incidents where trains are derailed / come off
the tracks. Trains may derail only one wheel or several
railcars & locomotives.
Company Personal Injury Used for all incidents involving "on the job injuries"
where railroad employees are injured while on duty.
Company Personal Illness Used for all incidents involving "on the job illness"
where railroad employees become ill while on duty.
Non-employee Illness Used for incidents where citizens, passengers or contract
employees, or other non-railroad employees become ill
while on railroad property or on passenger trains. **Do
not use for any incidents that include employee injuries.
Crossing Accident - Property
Damage
Used for all collisions of vehicles and trains that take
place on a recognized D.O.T. railroad crossing that do
not involve injuries or fatalities. Collisions or accidents
that do not occur on recognized D.O.T. crossings should
be labeled as a Trespasser Incidents even if in a vehicle.
Should be labeled as Trespasser Incidents even if in a
vehicle.
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Crossing Accident - Injured Party Used for all collisions of vehicles and trains that take
place on a recognized D.O.T. railroad crossing that
involve injuries to vehicle occupants or the train crew.
Use for incidents where trains strike pedestrians on a
recognized D.O.T crossing that result in injury. Private
Grade Crossings have DOT Numbers. These types of
crashes would be treated like a crash on private property.
Should be labeled as Trespasser Incidents even if in a
vehicle.
Crossing Accident - Fatality Used for all collisions of vehicles and trains that take
place on a recognized D.O.T. railroad crossing that
involve fatalities to vehicle occupants or the train crew.
Use for incidents where trains strike pedestrians on a
recognized D.O.T crossing that result in a fatality.
Private Grade Crossings has DOT Numbers, These types
of crashes would be treated like a crash on private
property.
Injured Party - Trespasser Used for incidents where an individual who was illegally
on railroad property became injured or became ill - not
involving a vehicle and not at a D.O.T recognized
crossing.
Injured Party – Non-Trespasser Used for incidents where citizens, passengers, or other
non-railroad employees are injured or become ill - not
involving a vehicle and not at a D.O.T recognized
crossing. (Non-Trespassers are those who are legally on
railroad property but don't work for the railroad).
Fatality - Trespasser Used for incidents where trespassers, or other non-
railroad employees are fatally injured or killed – not
involving a vehicle and not on a D.O.T. recognized
crossing. (Non-employees are anyone who does not
work for the railroad who is on railroad property
uninvited.
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Fatality – Non Trespasser Used for incidents involving the release of a hazardous
material that is regulated by the Department of
Transportation (D.O.T.). Consult the Code of Federal
Regulations (49CFR§172.101) or the North American
Emergency Response Guidebook for a complete listing.
Train/Vehicle Accident Non-
crossing - Property Damage
Used for all collisions of vehicles and trains that take
place in-between recognized D.O.T. crossings that do not
involve injuries or fatalities. Collisions which occur at
D.O.T. crossings should be labeled as Crossing
Accidents.
Train/Vehicle Accident Non crossing
- Injured Party
Used for all collisions of vehicles and trains that do not
take place at a recognized D.O.T. railroad crossing that
involve injuries to vehicle occupants or the train crew.
Collisions or accidents that occur on recognized D.O.T.
crossings should be labeled as a Crossing Accident.
Train/Vehicle Accident Non-
crossing - Fatality
Used for all collisions of vehicles and trains that do not
take place at a recognized D.O.T. railroad crossing that
involve fatalities to vehicle occupants or the train crew.
Collisions or accidents that occur on recognized D.O.T.
crossings should be labeled as a Crossing Accident.
Uncontrolled Movement of Rail
Equipment / Non-derailment
Used for incidents involving uncontrolled movement of
on track equipment, railcars "rolling free" or the report of
a "runaway" train that does not result in a "derailment."
Fire Related Incident Used for incidents involving a non-arson fire on the right
of way or next to the tracks. These incidents will most
likely also include the Slow Order Request given to Train
Management.
Police Activity - Trespasser on
Tracks/Right of Way
Used for incidents where non-railroad employees are on
unlawfully on railroad property adjacent to the tracks, on
the right-of-way or on the rails themselves.
Police Activity - On Board Train Used for incidents where non-railroad employees/
unauthorized riders are on a train, railcars or
locomotives. On passenger trains, incidents can vary
between non-payment of fare to an armed subject.
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Police Activity - Trespasser within
Railroad Facility
Used for incidents where non-railroad employees are
unlawfully in a railroad Rail Yard. This includes
transients in the yard.
Police Activity – Trespasser in
proximity of Critical Asset
Used for incidents where non-railroad employees are
unlawfully on railroad property such as critical bridges or
buildings. Use for trespassers located in railroad
buildings not on/near the tracks (e.g. headquarters,
dispatch center, shops, etc.)
Police Activity – Vandalism/Graffiti Used for incidents involving vandalism or graffiti to
railroad equipment or property. This includes all spray
painted railcars and bridges, shots fired at signal
equipment or railroad signs, debris stacked on the tracks,
etc.
Police Activity – Theft or Burglary Used for incidents where railroad property, equipment, or
lading from a railcar was stolen. This includes any
attempt to steal an item from, or illegally access, a
railroad building.
Police Activity – Theft or Burglary
in progress
Used for incidents where a caller reports a suspect or
suspects are on scene burglarizing railroad property,
equipment, or lading from a railcar.
Police Activity – Abandoned
Vehicle on Railroad Property
Used for incidents involving a vehicle located on railroad
property where the driver/owner is not present.
Police Activity – Vehicle/Traffic
Accident Non-train Related
Used for incidents involving traffic collisions or vehicle
accidents on railroad property where no trains or on-track
equipment is involved.
Police Activity – Alarm Activation Used for incidents involving any alarm activation at a
railroad building or facility that does not result in a
burglary or trespassers being located.
Police Activity – Passenger Trains All criminal and emergency service types can occur on a
passenger train. Examples include rape, medical, fights,
assaults, domestic, etc.
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Police Activity – Passenger Train
Requests Removal of Passenger
Used for incidents when Amtrak, Metra or any
passenger/commuter lines request assistance in removing
individuals from their trains.
Police Activity – Bomb Threat Used for incidents involving allegations / remarks of a
“bomb” on railroad property, or a suspected explosive
device that is UNFOUNDED.
Police Activity –
Suspicious/Terrorist Activity
Used for incidents involving activities that are “terrorist”
related and do not match other existing incident types.
Police Activity – Arson Used for incidents where fire was deliberately set to
railroad property or equipment. Railroad Special Agents
are usually involved in this determination.
Police Activity – Explosive Device
on Railroad Property
Used for incidents involving a true explosive device that
are located on or detonated in place on railroad property.
Service Interruption - General Used for incidents that do not "fit" into other Service
Interruption incident types. This serves as a "catch-all"
category. These incidents may also include the Slow
Order Request given to Train Management. This incident
type would also include crossing equipment damaged by
vehicles by accident where no vehicle owner information
is available.
Service Interruption – Livestock on
the Tracks
Used for incidents involving cattle, goats, sheep, horses
or any other kind of livestock / animal on or near the
tracks. Also use for incidents where a train struck
livestock. These incidents may also include the Slow
Order Request given to Train Management.
Train Fire Used for a fire involving a train or other rail equipment
on a railroad track, in railroad yards.
Crossing Warning Equipment
Damage
Used for any damage to any grade crossing warning
device but not limited to equipment installed at the grade
crossing
Crossing Blocked by Train Used for a crossing blocked by a stopped train.
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Occupied crossing Used for a crossing blocked by a train that is moving
(could be slow or back & forth when switching).
Specifying the correct situation is important.
Crossing malfunction Used for a warning system malfunction means an
activation failure, a partial activation, or a false activation
of a highway-rail grade crossing warning system. (49
CFR Part 234)
Railcar releasing product Used for substance discharging from a rail car including
such things as liquid or gas leaking from a tank car or
box car, grain leaking from a hopper car, fertilizer
leaking from a hopper car, etc.
Vegetation on Right of Way Used for a situation where vegetation is blocking the line
of sight of approaching trains at grade crossings.
Police Activity General - General
observation
Used for a situation that occurs that is not covered by one
of these other types of railroad incidents described above
(e.g. car accident, etc.)
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Exhibit C: Type of Railroad Incident
Type of Railroad Incident
Federal Railroad Administration’s Crossing and Geographic Information System Data
I. FRA’s Crossing Data
a. Generate a Report
b. Generate a Map
II. FRA’s GIS Crossings and Publicly Available GIS Data
III. FRA’s GIS Web Application
IV. Rail Locator Application
I. FRA’s Crossing Data
http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/crossing/crossing.aspx
Users can put in a USDOT crossing # and create a report or a map
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Note: This information is populated by the railroads and State DOTs. O r i g i n a l l y ,
t h e majority of the GIS layers are 1:100k, so the point locations for the crossings will
sometimes not be directly on top of the intersection of the rail and road.
FRA has made huge strides to realign the rail network to 1:24000 or better
AAR - Association of American Railroads
The central coordinating and research agency of the North American rail industry. It deals with
matters of common concern to member roads; operations, hardware standardization, regulatory
matters research, safety, forecasts, finance, etc. It is dedicated to the standardization of processes and
progress of the rail transportation industry
Car Number
An identification number comprised of initials, which indicate the ownership of the car, and a
number, which specifies the type of car.
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
One of seven major branches under the Department of Transportation. The FRA deals with matters
pertaining to railroads and their operations.
Right of Way
Activation Failure
Occupied Crossing
Railroad Yards
Trespasser
Derailment
Class 1
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a. Generate Report
b. Generate a Map
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FRA’s GIS Crossings & Publicly Available GIS Data
• The GIS layer only contains the crossings that have a valid latitude and longitude. When
FRA processes the data, they check to see if the X & Y’s are in a valid state and county.
FGDC metadata is attached to all Shapefiles for more descriptive definitions.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) releases an annual GIS datasets for all
transportation layers. Anyone can download or order the DVD to obtain the Rail network and
the Crossings.
http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_atlas_
database/index.html
• The FRA GIS layers are also available through mapping and feature services using a
REST end point. http://fragis.fra.dot.gov/fragis/rest/services/
II. FRA’s GIS Web Application
http://fragis.fra.dot.gov/GISFRASafety.
Web application runs on IE9 or higher, Firefox and Chrome
III. Rail Locator Application
The FRA’s Rail Crossing Locator app makes the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) grade
crossing data more accessible with your Apple or Android device. Similar in function to the web
applications described above, the app helps locate highway-rail grade crossings and explore the
inventory and accident history records. Users can also select from multiple base maps and identify
railroad crossings by characteristics. . NOTE: The Rail Crossing Locator only provides information
for at-grade highway rail crossings from the FRA’s publicly available Crossings GIS layer.
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The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Questions about the Rail Crossing Locator app? Contact the RCL team at [email protected]
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Exhibit D: Federal Railroad Administration definition of “Trespasser”
Trespassing on a railroad’s private property and along railroad rights of way is the leading cause
of rail-related fatalities in America. Nationally, just under 500 trespassing fatalities each year,
the vast majority of which are preventable. Since 1997, more people have been killed as a result
of trespassing than in motor vehicle collisions with trains at highway-rail grade crossings.
By definition, trespassers are illegally on railroad property without permission. They are most
often pedestrians who walk across or along railroad tracks as a shortcut from one place to
another, or they are engaged in loitering, hunting, dog walking, bicycling, or riding on all-terrain
vehicles, snowmobiles or even horseback.
Overall, the railroad operating environment is inherently a hazardous one for which railroad
employees receive extensive safety training. Trespassers do not have the benefit of this
knowledge nor are they are aware of current and pending train movements, and by failing to
properly use designated crossing locations such as highway-rail grade crossings and dedicated
pedestrian access paths, are susceptible and risk life-threatening injuries or death.
In most states, trespassing is codified as a property crime and a general offense. A number of the
states specifically forbid trespassing on railroad property. A list of state-by-state trespassing laws
is available at: http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0693
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Exhibit E: Federal Railroad Administration’s Spatial Data
Purpose:
This document describes FRA’s geospatial data that is maintained through, “The Office of Policy
and Communication”.
Data Layers/ Data Dictionaries
Data Dictionaries are subject to change.
Rail Lines: The FRA maintained routable rail network that originally was at 1:100,000, but is
being spatially enhanced to be 1:24,000 or better
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
FRAARCID Unique Arc ID
MILES Length of segment
STATEAB State Abbreviation
STATEFIPS State FIPS
CNTYFIPS County FIPS
STCNTYFIPS State and County FIPS
FRAREGION FRA Region (1 – 8)
RROWNER1 Railroad Owner
RROWNER2 Railroad Owner
RROWNER3 Railroad Owner
TRKRGHTS1 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS2 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS3 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS4 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS5 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS6 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS7 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS8 Trackage Rights
TRKRGHTS9 Trackage Rights
STRACNET Strategic Rail Corridor Network
FRFRANODE From Arc Node
TOFRANODE To Arc Node
DEN05CODE
Density Code 1 - < 5
2 - >= 5 and < 10
3 - >= 10 and < 20
4 >= 20 and < 40
5 >= 40 and < 60 6 >= 60 < 100:
7 >= 100:
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NET
Type of Rail
A - Abandoned
M - Main sub network
O - Non-Mainline Active Track
F - Ferry
YARDS Yards
SUBDIVI Subdivisions
STRACNET Strategic Rail Corridor Network
S - STRACNET
C - STRACNET Connector
SIGSYS Signal System. Currently Unreliable needs complete review. CTC, ABS, etc.
TRACKS Number of tracks. This data has not been verified
COUNTRY For NTAD extract US rail only using this attribute. U = United States
C = Canada M = Mexico
PASSNGR
Passenger Railroad Operations. Can be concatenated (e.g. AC = Amtrak and
commuter rail). Keep in alphabetical order (e.g. no CA). The only thing that has
been verified is Amtrak. A = Amtrak
C= Commuter
T = Tourist R=Rapid Transit
V = Via Rail Canada
Rail Nodes
Column Name Definition
FRANODEID Unique Node ID
STATEAB State Abbreviation
STATEFIPS State FIPS
CNTYFIPS County FIPS
STCNTYFIPS County & State FIPS
FRAREGION The Number indicates the region that the spatial data is located in
FREIGHT STATIONS is a layer maintained by RailInc. The data is used at the FRA, but
cannot be supplied. It is a key feature within GIS, but the data must be purchased.
Amtrak Stations
The Amtrak Stations database is a geographic data set containing Amtrak intercity railroad
passenger terminals in the United States and Canada.
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
STNCODE Unique Station Code
STNNAME Station Name: city and state
ADDRESS1 Primary address of Amtrak Station
ADDRESS2 Secondary address of Amtrak Station
CITY City of the Amtrak Station
STATE State of the Amtrak Station
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ZIP Zip Code of the Amtrak Station
STNTYPE Type of Amtrak Station
STATUS
ACTIVE
CLOSED
SEASONAL
PLANNED
LAT Latitude of point
LON Longitude of Point
Grade Crossings
Highway-railroad grade crossings are intersections where a highway crosses a railroad at-grade.
Grade crossings may be public or private. Public grade crossings are roadways that are under the
jurisdiction of, and maintained by, a public authority. Private grade crossings are on roadways
privately owned, such as on a farm or industrial area, and is intended for use by the owner or by the
owner's licensees and invitees.
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
CROSSING Unique USDOT ID for the Crossing
SOURCE Source of record
TYPEPOS
Position of Crossing
1 = At Grade
2 = RR Under
3 = RR Over
HIGHWAY Highway type and Number
STREET Street or Road Number
LAT Latitude
LON Longitude
STFIPS State FIPS
CTFIPS State and County FIPS
STATE State Name
COUNTY County Name
State_ABBR State Abbreviation
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
CROSSING Unique USDOT ID for the Crossing
EFFDATE Effective Date
EDATE End Date
REASON
Reason for Update
1=Changes in Existing Crossing Data
NENA Public Safety Communications & Railroad Interaction Standard Operating Procedures
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2=New Crossing
3=Closed Crossing or Abandoned
StateCode State’s Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
CountyCode County FIPS
STCYFIPS State and County FIPS
CITYCD City FIPS
RAILROAD Railroad Operating Company
RRDIV Railroad Division
RRSUBDIV Railroad Subdivision
HIGHWAY Highway type and Number
STREET Street or Road Number
TTSTN Timetable Station
MILEPOST Railroad Milepost
TYPEXING
Type of Crossing
1=Pedestrain
2=Private
3=Public
POSXING
Position of Crossing
1 = At grade under
2 = RR Under
3 = RR over
PRVCAT
Private Xing Category
1 = Farm
2 = Residential
3 = Recreational
4 = Industrial
5 = Commercial
PRVIND
Signs/Signals
1 = signs
2 = signals
3 = no signs or signals
4 = both signs and signals
PRVSIGN Signs-Specify
INIT Initiating Agency
1 = Railroad
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2 = State
3 = DOT
4 = Original FRA internal use.
LATITUDE Latitude
LONGITUD Longitude
STFIPS State FIPS
CTFIPS State and County FIPS
WHISTBAN
Whistle Ban (Quiet Zone)
0 = no
1 = 24 hour
2 = partial
9 = unknown
RRCONT Railroad Contact
POLCONT Emergency Contact
INV_LINK Inventory link of the grade crossing record
ACC_LINK If applicable, the accident link that occurred at that grade crossing
Mileposts
The milepost layer contains physical location of the mileposts along the rail lines. The mileposts are
assigned by the primary rail owner of the rail line. The data is primarily updated by the FRA
geometry car, but also from State DOT’s and Railroads.
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
COLLDATE The collection of the data
RAILROAD Rail Owner
MILEPOST Milepost Number
SOURCE State and County FIPS
LAT Latitude
LON Longitude
RR_Milepos Rail Owner & Milepost
STCYFIPS State and County FIPS
Mileposts are available by request to the FRA.
NENA Public Safety Communications & Railroad Interaction Standard Operating Procedures
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Railyards
These are yards that were coded in the FRA 1:100k network. A 1 mile buffer was used to create
these polygons
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
STCTYFIPS State and County FIPS
OR_YARDS Oak Ridge Yards
SUBDIVISIO Oak Ridge Subdivisions
STFIPS State and County FIPS
QuietZones
A highway rail grade crossing were the routine sounding of the locomotive horn has been
silenced in accordance with 49 CFR Part 222
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID_1 System Generated
CROSSING Unique USDOT ID for the Crossing
SOURCE Source of record
TYPEPOS
Position of Crossing
1 = At Grade
2 = RR Under
3 = RR Over
HIGHWAY Highway type and Number
STREET Street or Road Number
LAT Latitude
LON Longitude
STFIPS State FIPS
CTFIPS State and County FIPS
STATE State Name
COUNTY County Name
INV_LINK Hyperlink to the inventory record
ACC_LINK Hyperlink to the accident record
OBJECTID System Generated
REPORT_DAT Quiet Zone Report Date
QZID Quiet Zone ID
QZTYPE Quiet Zone Type
BASSECTION STARTDATE Start Date
NOC GXID USDOT Crossing ID
NENA Public Safety Communications & Railroad Interaction Standard Operating Procedures
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Rail Subdivision
The subdivisions were coded in the FRA 1:100k network and a 1 mile buffer was used to create
these polygons. This attribute is currently being updated.
Column Name Definition
OBJECTID System Generated
SUBDIVISIO
RROWNER
Subdivisions Name
Rail Owner
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