Warnock working to address blocked railroad crossings in bipartisan train safety bill
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After several high profile railroad safety incidents and investigations into trains blocking important routes, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is working with colleagues to advance bipartisan rail safety legislation.
The legislation, S. 576 or the Railway Safety Act of 2023, would require the Department of Transportation to issue new regulations around hazardous materials, train length and weight, and blocked railroad crossings, along with a range of other changes. The legislation currently has five Democratic cosponsors and six Republican cosponsors. Warnock's office recently announced that he had two amendments included in the bill.
“Reports of stalled trains trapping Georgians in their neighborhoods for hours or even days is unacceptable,” Warnock was quoted as saying in a press release. “I was proud to join my colleagues ... in leading the Senate to take a much-needed first step to address this problem by working to address rail crossings that block our children from getting to school."
One amendment would update the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant program to give particular attention to train crossings on a bus route or within a mile of a school. Georgia has the ninth most blocked railroad crossings in the country, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, a number that Warnock's office cited alongside specific instances of blocked crossings in Atlanta and Savannah.
According to Warnock's office, the first round of the grant funding should be announced later this spring. His amendment would also lower the local match for the federal grant funding.
Warnock's other amendment would require the posting of a phone number to the Department of Transportation website to report blocked crossings, in addition to a requirement of train companies to post a number to report train incidents at crossings themselves.
The legislation this week passed out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation with bipartisan support.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Blocked rail crossings focus of rail safety amendments from Warnock
