In the United States, an average of three people are injured or killed every day on railroad property and Florida has among the highest number of train fatalities in the country. In fact, two Florida counties rank in the top 10 most dangerous in the nation for railroad trespasser casualties, which occur when someone enters railroad property that is prohibited for public use. Between Nov. 2013 and Oct. 2017, Florida’s Broward County ranked fifth, with 51 fatalities, and Palm Beach County ranked sixth, with 47 fatalities. And just recently, a 43-year-old man got hit by a train and killed on March 7 at a Broward County rail crossing while crossing the tracks. In response to the alarming frequency of these incidents, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a comprehensive report that identified and discussed contributing factors and potential solutions to railroad trespassing fatalities. The FRA’s report acknowledged that current safety approaches, which are lar...

April 2, 2019

Recently, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced the installation of electronic signs in Lakeland designed to reduce traffic delays caused by passing trains. The activation of the signs is set to happen sometime during the month of March. When the rail crossing arms go down in downtown Lakeland, the signs will light up, alert drivers of an oncoming train, and suggest an alternate route for them to take. In the future, more advanced signs may also anticipate wait times based on the speed and length of oncoming trains. In addition to being good news for commuters who are fed up with waiting at rail crossings, this change could also have a positive impact on road safety. One of the biggest safety hazards pertaining to traveling near train tracks is impatient drivers who decide to drive around downed crossing arms in an attempt to beat a train. Florida has already seen multiple dangerous incidents caused by this behavior. Two men were severely injured in Callahan o...

March 8, 2019

Jeffrey King had turned his life around after getting out of prison, regularly volunteered at a soup kitchen, and attended church on Sundays. Robert Gray was a husband and father of three young children. Conor Scherle was in Florida for his brother’s wedding, and set to be a groomsman at the ceremony. These are just three of the dozens of people who have lost their lives after being struck by a train in South Florida. In fact, Florida ranks number two (behind only California) for the number of train-related deaths. In 2017, 76 people were killed in Florida, which marked a seven-year high, with a majority of the deaths occurring in South Florida. SunRail, Brightline, and Tri-Rail trains have been the culprits of several of these deaths. Most of Brightline’s deaths were pedestrians, but some involved peoples’ cars being hit by oncoming trains. Oftentimes, these accidents are a result of an individual’s miscalculation of how much time they have to cross train ...

February 27, 2019

Virgin Trains USA, formerly known as Brightline, has been gearing up for months to construct a $2.1 billion passenger train route between Orlando-to-West Palm Beach. It has already faced opposition due to safety concerns associated with high-speed rail lines, and is now facing another hurdle as the time for construction to begin comes closer: a new lawsuit filed by Indian River County on Jan. 16. Indian River County has spent approximately $235 thousand each year to maintain railroad crossings since a 2011 agreement with the Florida East Coast Railway. Now, Virgin Trains USA and Florida East Coast executives expect Indian River taxpayers to pay for the new railroad’s installation and maintenance, despite the fact that the county does not have an agreement with Virgin Trains USA. The new lawsuit filed by Indian River alleges that Virgin Trains USA should not be considered a third-party beneficiary of the prior agreement, making the county not responsible for fees associated wi...

February 11, 2019

Recently, a report released by the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability outlined safety concerns that are shared by multiple critics of the privately owned Brightline train service. Brightline, which will soon be rebranded as “Virgin Trains USA”, has been the center of controversy for some time; 10 people have been struck and killed by high-speed Brightline trains since testing began in 2017. Four of these fatalities occurred within just one week of Brightline’s rail service being opened for public use. This report also comes just as Brightline’s proposed Orlando-Tampa rail line undergoes the procurement process.   One particular politician, Florida Senator Debbie Mayfield, has been an outspoken advocate for increasing the state’s oversight of Brightline. Before the release of this report, the state was not using its authority to regulate the high-speed rail company, which has deemed itself as...

January 2, 2019

Recently, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced that the Brightline rail service is the only company that submitted a proposal to build a new intercity passenger train line from Orlando to Tampa. Unfortunately, a slew of fatal incidents since Brightline’s opening has led many people to oppose the train route. Brightline, which began operating for testing purposes last year and was opened to the public in January, has already been criticized for causing a number of fatalities. In fact, there were four confirmed fatalities on the tracks within just one week of it being opened to the public (this includes fatalities that occurred during testing). As of October, ten people have been struck by a train and killed since its testing began last year. Many people that Brightline is skewing the numbers when they claim that a majority of these deaths occurred as a suicide attempt. Other decisions made by Brightline have alarmed the public due to potential future saf...

December 18, 2018

A Duval County school bus recently collided with a CSX freight train in the Westside area of Jacksonville, Florida. According to local news coverage, the bus was stopped partially over the train tracks when the backside got hit by a moving train.  One of the three adults on the school bus was injured and taken to the hospital with a laceration on her head, according to Catherine Perrault, a Naval Hospital physician who jumped in to help after witnessing the incident. Perrault added that “the entire back of the bus completely caved in” because of the accident. Neither of the two individuals on the train were injured and there were no children on the bus at the time. The bus driver reported that the crossing gates had slammed down onto the back of the bus before the collision occurred, and that he was stopped on the tracks when that happened. A CSX spokesperson responded by saying that the crossing gates were designed to snap off easily and that them coming down sh...

December 14, 2018

As of September 25, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have revoked a safety requirement put in place in 2015 that mandated flammable unit trains carrying crude oil have an electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake system. An ECP brake is a type of air brake that has been documented as more responsive to engineers’ commands, which substantially reduces the braking distance and likelihood of breakaways and derailments. Critics of the repeal say that this decision disregards the safety of individuals who live or work along railroad tracks that transport hazardous materials. Others add that in addition to endangering human lives, removing the requirement may have devastating consequences on wildlife and the environment if a hazardous material spill occurs. A 2015 study done by the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity revealed that “within just a quarter-mile of existing and planned oil-tra...

December 13, 2018

It has been a year since CSX Transportation’s train derailed in the community of Hyndman, PA—scattering 33 tanker cars filled with liquid propane that forced the evacuation of 1,000 local residents and destroyed many of their homes as blazing fires erupted on the outskirts of the small town. Yet, this was not the first time that the Bedford county community crossed horns with the rail giant. The small community has battled CSX for years before this latest accident. "They just do what they want to do and it's not right,” said Bedford County Commissioner Barry Dalara. It’s a major problem for a little community where a train passes by nearly every hour, 24 hours a day. For many small towns, the issue is that of crossing maintenance—an intersection between trains and townspeople that, if neglected, can lead to property destruction, serious injury or even death. In Perrysburg, Ohio, deteriorating CSX railroad crossings are to a point that their con...

August 29, 2018

The fatal Amtrak passenger train wreck last February in South Carolina killed two Amtrak crew members and sent hundreds of passengers to the hospital after the train running at 57 mph on CSX railroad lines slammed into parked locomotives. A single switch set in the wrong direction was the catalyst for the terrible crash. A switch that was supposed to be realigned for the main track by a CSX conductor who was working nearby—according to information revealed by recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearings. The oversight cost lives and shattered public trust. It may also be, unfortunately, illustrative of a company that is more focused on "efficiency and profits" rather than safety, according to the railroad conductor who spoke to the Post and Courier in Charleston South Carolina following the accident. Emphasis switched from safety to getting things done, explained the conductor who admitted to failing to set the switch correctly: He also explained tha...

August 22, 2018