GRADE CROSSING CLOSURE PROGRAM

Transport Canada’s Grade Crossing Closure Program promotes railway safety by making it easier to close certain railway crossings. The program resulted from the review of the Railway Safety Act held between 1994 and 1999, which recognized that closing passive railway crossings in Canada (those that do not have automated warning systems) would help improve the safety of the rail system. As a result, the act was amended in 1999, giving the Minister of Transport the authority to enter into agreements with parties possessing the rights to use such crossings so that the crossings could be closed.

As a result of the amendment, Transport Canada developed the Grade Crossing Closure Program. It is designed as a grant program through which eligible recipients – such as municipalities, provinces, businesses or private citizens – who own the rights to use a passive railway crossing can sign an agreement giving up these rights, and close the crossing. The grant recipient can receive up to $5,000 for a private crossing, or up to $20,000 for a public crossing. 

Potential crossings for closure or improvement are identified in several ways. It could be as a result of an inspection by Transport Canada railway safety officers; in response to specific accidents or as a result of a review of accident records; in response to requests or applications received from local road authorities and railway companies; or as a result of concerns raised by other interested parties.

Applications for the grant must be submitted to Transport Canada and include the following: information regarding the location; vehicular and pedestrian traffic using the crossing; a description of the existing safety hazard being eliminated; alternative solutions; a plan of any related works necessary to support the proposed closing; the person’s commitment to see the crossing closed; and any other information necessary to support the application for a grant.

The following criteria must also be met for grant consideration:

• The grant must close a crossing where a safety concern or hazard exists and/or where the closing will divert users to an alternative crossing where a higher level of safety exists. In many cases, this program will result in the closing of an uncontrolled or passive crossing and the diversion of traffic to a controlled crossing.
• The crossing must be on a line of a federally regulated railway and must have been in existence for at least three years.
• Where closing a crossing results in the closure of a public road, all approvals required under provincial or municipal law must be in place before payment of the grant.
• The recipient of the grant must be the person with whom the rights to the crossing reside, and they must sign the agreement giving up their rights to use the crossing.

Each year, through its Grade Crossing Improvement Program, Transport Canada funds up to 80 per cent of the eligible costs of safety enhancements at railway crossings across the country. Improvements include installing flashing lights and gates, adding gates or extra lights to existing systems, linking crossing signals to nearby traffic lights, modifying operating circuits, and adding new circuits or timing devices.

To improve nighttime visibility and safety at passive grade crossings, Transport Canada is also giving railway companies financial support by funding 80 per cent of the costs, up to a maximum of $150 per crossing, to install retro-reflective material at 10,894 federally regulated passive grade crossings across Canada.

Transport Canada has also put in place rules under the Railway Safety Act reflective material on all Canadian-owned locomotives and freight cars operated by federally regulated railways. Under the Railway Equipment Reflectorization Rules which came into force on May 1, 2006, all Canadian-owned locomotives and freight cars operated by federally regulated railways will be required to have approximately five times more reflective material on them than before. In addition, improvements in technology means the materials will be more reflective and thus more visible than previous requirements. Railcars which have reflective material applied are significantly more visible at night. This increased visibility will reduce the likelihood that a driver will drive into the side of a train at a highway/railway crossing.

Transport Canada supports two other initiatives to improve safety at railway crossings: Operation Lifesaver, a public education program of the Railway Association of Canada that has promoted safety at railway crossings since 1981; and Direction 2006, a partnership of governments, railway companies and their unions working to reduce collisions and trespassing incidents by 50 per cent by 2006.

Although the number of roadway/railway grade crossing collisions and fatalities has declined in the last decade, Transport Canada and its partners continue to seek opportunities to further improve the system’s safety.

May 2006