COMPILED BY ANNA LOTZ DESIGNED BY MATTHEWT. MILLS
INSIDE INFORMATION
Portions of south Montgomery County are home to both the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad rail lines. Communities, including Tamina east of I-45, include highway- rail at-grade crossings, meaning the railway and roadway intersects on the same level. Texas leads the nation in its number of freight railroad miles, according to the Association of American Railroads, as well as in the number of highway-rail incidents in 2018, Federal Railroad Administration data shows.
THE TRACKS
Texas had
Rules OF THE RAILS
of freight railroad in 2017—the most of any state in the nation. 10,506 MILES The U.S. totaled of freight railroad in 2017. 136,898 MILES
Recent IMPROVEMENTS
1 Slow down and look both ways when crossing railroad tracks. Drivers should be prepared to stop for an oncoming train but never stop on the tracks. 2 Stop 15 feet from the tracks if signs of an oncoming train are visible. 3 If a vehicle stalls on the tracks, leave the vehicle and call the number on the crossing sign or dial 911. 4 Pedestrians who cross tracks anywhere other than a designated pedestrian or roadway crossing may be ticketed or fined. 5 Do not drive around, under or through a crossing barrier while the barrier is closed or closing. 6 Drivers committing railroad crossing offenses can be fined $50-$200. SOURCES:FEDERALRAILROADADMINISTRATION,TEXASTRANSPORTATION CODE/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
1486
Completed 2018
To decrease the number of vehicles locally crossing railroad tracks at grade, the Texas Department of Transportation has created two railroad overpasses on FM1488, including one near Magnolia High School.
BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE RAILROAD
1488
Counting CASUALTIES
UNION PACIFIC CORP. RAILROAD
1774
a train in the U.S. hits a person or vehicle Every 4 HOURS
149
To finish in 2019
N
SOURCE:TEXASDEPARTMENTOFTRANSPORTATION/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
Texas INCIDENTS
Texas is tied for the second-most deaths of trespassers on the tracks in the U.S. with 36 fatalities in 2018. 1 California: 119 deaths 2 Texas, NewYork: 36 deaths
In 2018, Texas led the U.S. with 246 railroad-highway incidents.
IN TEXAS Fatalities
400
Grade crossing deaths Deaths by trespassing
322
300
Federal ACTION
228
246
20 30 40 50
200
100
The Railway-Highway Crossings Program , created in 1987, provides federal dollars to states to improve railway-highway grade crossing safety, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Texas was required by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2007 to draft a five-year highway-rail grade crossing safety action plan because of high numbers of highway-rail crossing collisions in 2006-08.
0
1998
2008
2018
Countywide INCIDENTS
10
Montgomery
0
1998
2008
2018
Fatalities BY COUNTY
Grade crossing deaths Deaths by trespassing
Harris County Montgomery County
Harris
*Zero deaths
from fiscal years 2016-20 $95.3M ESTIMATED FUNDS FOR TEXAS CROSSINGS
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0
Harris County
Montgomery County
$18M $18.5M $19M $19.5M $20M
2 3 4
2 3 4
46
39
34
1
1
0
1
4
0
0
2008 2018 *
1998
1998 * 2008 * 2018
SOURCE:FEDERALRAILROADADMINISTRATIONOFFICEOFSAFETYANALYSIS/ COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER 1998 2008 2018
$0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
SOURCE:FEDERALRAILROADADMINISTRATIONOFFICEOFSAFETYANALYSIS, NATIONALHIGHWAYTRAFFICSAFETYADMINISTRATION,/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCE:FEDERALHIGHWAYADMINISTRATION/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
Keeping Motorists Informed, Roadways Clear and Lives Safe
Get real-time traffic updates in the Houston, Texas region throughout the year, and learn where roadway flooding risk is high during heavy rain events.
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The Woodlands edition • November 2019
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