On Sep. 10, Florida State Senators Debbie Mayfield and Gayle Harrell announced new efforts to make Florida railroads safer, with a particular emphasis on railways along the East Coast corridor. The announcement comes as Virgin Trains USA continues construction on phase two of a rail service that will extend from South Florida to Orlando. The senators hope to see safety changes in place before Virgin’s construction is completed in 2022.

Based on total track miles, Florida railroads rank as the most dangerous in the country, which is reflected in the high number of railroad deaths across the state. According to the Alliance for Safe Trains, 90 people have died on Florida railways in the 20 months since Jan. 1, 2018. Of those, 52 deaths involved Virginia Trains USA and Florida East Coast Railway trains, representing nearly 58% of the state’s fatalities.

One safety recommendation introduced by Mayfield involves the installation of fencing and barriers at rail crossings to prevent pedestrian accidents which make up a majority of railroad fatalities: “[of] all the deaths we had, some of those could have been prevented if there were steel corridors, which means that there are guard rails coming down on all four [sides] that kind of closes off that corridor so people can’t go around.” Accordingly, legislation has been introduced that would require the use of steel corridors at certain crossings. “The issue that we had,” added Mayfield, “is that we have not taken an aggressive stand with Virgin Trains USA to mandate to them. This is what we want at grade crossings.”

Mayfield and Harrell have also encouraged the Florida Department of Transportation to implement the train safety recommendations identified in a passenger rail systems study completed by the Legislature’s Office of Public Policy and Government Accountability. Mayfield plans on using the results of that study to file further legislation designed to make high-speed rail travel safer across the Sunshine State.