Missouri unveils $18.5M plan to upgrade, close rail crossings after fatal Amtrak crash

The state of Missouri wants to close 17 passenger rail crossings and add lights and gates to another 27 after flaws at a northern Missouri railroad crossing contributed to an Amtrak derailment that killed four and injured 146 last June.

The Missouri Department of Transportation released the recommendations Thursday after commissioning a report that analyzed the three rail lines that carry passengers across the state. The crossing where the fatal crash occurred near Mendon, Missouri is among those recommended for closure.

“The Mendon issue was a terrible tragedy to say the least. People lost their lives,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson told reporters Thursday. “With that, it’s about moving forward. It’s about not letting that happen again.”

The estimated $18.5 million plan comes after Missouri lawmakers approved and Parson, a Republican, signed $50 million in this year’s budget to address rail safety. MoDOT said in a news release Thursday that the plan requires working with railroad companies and the owners of the roads at the 47 passive passenger rail crossings in the state. Passive crossings have no warning devices such as bells, lights or gates.

Thursday’s announcement follows the release this week of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into last year’s Amtrak derailment near Mendon. The crash occurred when the train slammed into a dump truck moving slowly over the crossing.

The intersection had no gates or lights to warn drivers of oncoming trains, only crossbucks.

The NTSB report confirmed that flaws at the crossing contributed to the crash, which mirrored the conclusions of The Star’s investigation conducted in the days and months after the collision. The findings brought attention to dangerous crossings throughout the state.

Linda Horn, a MoDOT spokesperson, told The Star Thursday that the $18.5 million was the first phase of the state’s plan to address railroad crossing safety. The state plans to use the remaining funds to analyze the remaining passive crossings across the state.

“I’m seeking anyone that will work with me,” Patrick McKenna, MoDOT’s director told reporters Thursday. “Any county right now that wants to agree to the terms of this plan that came from this and any railroad that is willing to step up, we’ll work starting tomorrow.”

McKenna said he wants to get as much work done on the plan as possible over the next year. He said it typically takes three to five years to complete upgrades.

Missouri’s three passenger rail lines, Southwest Chief, Missouri River Runner and Texas Eagle, all include crossings that are recommended for closures, according to the report. The Southwest Chief line, which runs from Kansas City through northeastern Missouri, includes seven crossings that are recommended for upgrades and 11 crossings slated for closure.

The upgrades vary for each location, according to the report, but include lights and gates. The plan also includes installing two security gate systems, changing three crossings from public to private and three other signage enhancements.

MoDOT plans to conduct another study that will analyze four railroad corridors across the state that carry freight only. The agency, according to a news release, will work with railroads on potential grants to address crossings on other lines in Missouri.

“What Missouri has done absolutely serves as a model for other states to follow,” Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose, who serves in President Joe Biden’s administration, told reporters Thursday. “What Missouri has done, is doing is, absolutely is setting a positive trend hopefully for other states to follow.”

According to the NTSB, the gravel road leading up to the Chariton County crossing was too steep — 13 times the maximum slope recommended by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. This sharp incline was one of the contributing factors of the June 27 derailment, the report said.

The NTSB also said the 45-degree angle of the intersection between the tracks and roadway made it more difficult for drivers to see approaching trains.

After the collision, The Star found that at least 12 people had died in the past 2½ years in crashes at Missouri railroad crossings that had been scheduled for improvements but were never completed — including the Mendon crossing where the Amtrak train derailed.

The seven crossings where the deadly crashes occurred had appeared on multiple improvement plans and had been identified as needing warning devices, such as lights and gates, The Star found.

But the question of who is ultimately responsible for crossing upgrades or safety improvements — railroad companies, the state or local governments that maintain adjoining roads — isn’t always clear. And figuring it out, The Star found, can turn into a bureaucratic and legal mess.

Chariton County residents, railroad experts and local government leaders said if known hazards at crossings across Missouri weren’t corrected in a more timely manner, many more could be killed or injured.

In Missouri, which has the 11th most miles of track in the country, the current estimated cost to upgrade dangerous crossings is about $700 million, MoDOT wrote in its fiscal 2024 appropriations request.

At the current funding rate, MoDOT said, those improvements would take 23 years to complete.

The agency asked for $50 million to increase the number of crossings with active warning devices. Of the 3,311 public at-grade railroad crossings in Missouri, 1,420 — or 43% — don’t have those devices, according to MoDOT.

The total amount of funding for safety improvements at public crossings in Missouri has been about $7.5 million annually — $6 million from the federal government and roughly $1.5 million from the state.

A January 2022 draft of the Missouri Highway-Rail Grade Crossing State Action Plan said that from 2017 to 2021, MoDOT had completed about 20 highway-rail grade crossing projects each year. The average project, it said, costs around $400,000.