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Public Act 096-0470
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| HB3730 Enrolled |
LRB096 09362 AJT 19519 b |
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AN ACT concerning transportation.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing |
Section 18c-7401 as follows:
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(625 ILCS 5/18c-7401) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7401)
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Sec. 18c-7401. Safety Requirements for Track, Facilities, |
and
Equipment.
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(1) General Requirements. Each rail carrier shall, |
consistent with rules,
orders, and regulations of the Federal |
Railroad Administration, construct,
maintain, and operate all |
of its equipment, track, and other property in this
State in |
such a manner as to pose no undue risk to its employees or the |
person
or property of any member of the public.
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(2) Adoption of Federal Standards. The track safety |
standards and
accident/incident standards promulgated by the |
Federal Railroad Administration
shall be safety standards of |
the Commission. The Commission may, in addition,
adopt by |
reference in its regulations other federal railroad safety |
standards,
whether contained in federal statutes or in |
regulations adopted pursuant to
such statutes.
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(3) Railroad Crossings. No public road, highway, or street |
shall hereafter
be constructed across the track of any rail |
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carrier at grade, nor shall the
track of any rail carrier be |
constructed across a public road, highway or
street at grade, |
without having first secured the permission of the Commission;
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provided, that this Section shall not apply to the replacement |
of lawfully
existing roads, highways and tracks.
No public |
pedestrian bridge or subway shall be constructed across the |
track
of any rail carrier without having first secured the |
permission of the
Commission.
The Commission shall have the |
right to
refuse its permission or to grant it upon such terms |
and conditions as it may
prescribe.
The Commission shall have |
power to determine and prescribe the
manner, including the |
particular point of crossing, and the terms of
installation, |
operation, maintenance, use and protection of each such |
crossing.
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The Commission shall also have power, after a hearing, to
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require major alteration of or to abolish any crossing,
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heretofore or hereafter established, when in its opinion, the
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public safety requires such alteration or abolition, and,
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except in cities, villages and incorporated towns of
1,000,000 |
or more inhabitants, to vacate and close that part
of the |
highway on such crossing altered or abolished and
cause |
barricades to be erected across such highway in such
manner as |
to prevent the use of such crossing as a highway,
when, in the |
opinion of the Commission, the public
convenience served by the |
crossing in question is not such as
to justify the further |
retention thereof; or to require a
separation of grades, at |
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railroad-highway grade crossings; or to
require a
separation of |
grades at any proposed crossing where a
proposed public highway |
may cross the tracks of any rail
carrier or carriers; and to |
prescribe, after a hearing of the parties,
the terms upon which |
such separations shall be made and the
proportion in which the |
expense of the alteration or
abolition of such crossings or the |
separation of such grades, having regard
to the benefits, if |
any, accruing to the rail carrier or any party in
interest,
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shall be divided between the rail carrier or carriers affected, |
or
between such carrier or carriers and the State, county, |
municipality
or other public authority in interest.
However, a |
public hearing by the Commission to abolish a crossing shall |
not
be required
when the public highway authority in interest |
vacates the highway. In such
instance
the rail carrier, |
following notification to the Commission and the highway
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authority, shall remove any grade crossing warning devices and |
the grade
crossing surface.
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The Commission shall also have power by its order to |
require
the reconstruction, minor alteration, minor relocation |
or
improvement of any crossing (including the necessary highway
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approaches thereto) of any railroad across any highway or
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public road, pedestrian bridge, or pedestrian subway, whether |
such crossing
be at grade
or by overhead
structure or by |
subway, whenever the Commission finds after a
hearing or |
without a hearing as otherwise provided in this
paragraph that |
such reconstruction, alteration, relocation or
improvement is |
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necessary to preserve or promote the safety or
convenience of |
the public or of the employees or passengers
of such rail |
carrier or carriers. By its original order or
supplemental |
orders in such case, the Commission may direct such
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reconstruction, alteration, relocation, or improvement to be
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made in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as may
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be reasonable and necessary
and may apportion the cost of
such |
reconstruction, alteration, relocation or improvement
and the |
subsequent maintenance thereof, having regard to the benefits, |
if
any, accruing
to the railroad or any party in interest,
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between the rail
carrier or carriers and public utilities |
affected, or between such
carrier or carriers and public |
utilities and the State, county,
municipality or other public |
authority in interest. The cost
to be so apportioned shall |
include the cost of changes or
alterations in the equipment of |
public utilities affected as
well as the cost of the |
relocation, diversion or
establishment of any public highway, |
made necessary by such
reconstruction, alteration, relocation |
or improvement of said
crossing. A hearing shall not be |
required in those instances
when the Commission enters an order |
confirming a written
stipulation in which the Commission, the |
public highway
authority or other public authority in interest, |
the rail carrier or
carriers
affected, and in
instances |
involving the use of the Grade Crossing Protection
Fund, the |
Illinois Department of Transportation, agree on the
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reconstruction, alteration, relocation, or improvement and
the |
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subsequent maintenance thereof and the division of costs
of |
such changes of any grade crossing (including the
necessary |
highway approaches thereto) of any railroad across
any highway, |
pedestrian bridge, or pedestrian subway.
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Every rail carrier operating in the State of Illinois shall
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construct and maintain every highway crossing over its tracks
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within the State so that the roadway at the intersection
shall |
be as flush with the rails as superelevated curves will
allow, |
and, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission, shall
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construct and maintain the approaches thereto at a grade of
not |
more than 5% within the right of way for a distance of
not less |
the 6 feet on each side of the centerline of such
tracks; |
provided, that the grades at the approaches may be
maintained |
in excess of 5% only when authorized by the
Commission.
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Every rail carrier operating within this State shall remove
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from its right of way at all railroad-highway grade crossings |
within the
State, such brush, shrubbery, and trees as is |
reasonably
practical for a distance of not less than 500 feet |
in either
direction from each grade crossing.
The Commission |
shall have power, upon its own motion, or upon
complaint, and |
after having made proper investigation, to
require the |
installation of adequate and appropriate luminous
reflective |
warning signs, luminous flashing
signals, crossing
gates |
illuminated at night, or other protective devices
in
order to |
promote and safeguard the health and safety of the
public.
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Luminous flashing signal or crossing gate
devices installed at |
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grade crossings, which have been approved
by the Commission, |
shall be deemed adequate and appropriate.
The Commission shall |
have authority to determine the number,
type, and location of |
such signs, signals, gates, or other
protective devices which, |
however, shall conform as near as
may be with generally |
recognized national standards, and the
Commission shall have |
authority to prescribe the division of
the cost of the |
installation and subsequent maintenance of
such signs, |
signals, gates, or other protective
devices between the rail |
carrier or carriers, the public highway
authority or other |
public authority in
interest, and in instances involving the |
use of the Grade
Crossing Protection Fund, the Illinois |
Department of
Transportation.
Except where train crews provide |
flagging of the crossing to road users, yield signs shall be |
installed at all highway intersections with every grade |
crossing in this State that is not equipped with automatic |
warning devices, such as luminous flashing signals or crossing |
gate devices. A stop sign may be used in lieu of the yield sign |
when an engineering study conducted in cooperation with the |
highway authority and the Illinois Department of |
Transportation has determined that a stop sign is warranted. If |
the Commission has ordered the installation of luminous |
flashing signal or
crossing gate devices at a grade crossing |
not equipped with active warning devices, the Commission shall |
order the
installation of temporary stop signs at the highway |
intersection with the grade
crossing unless an engineering |
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study has determined that a stop sign is not appropriate. If a |
stop sign is not appropriate, the Commission may order the |
installation of other appropriate supplemental signing as |
determined by an engineering study. The temporary stop signs |
shall remain in place until the luminous
flashing signal or |
crossing gate devices have been installed.
The rail carrier is |
responsible for the cost of the installation and subsequent
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maintenance of any required temporary stop signs.
The permanent |
signs shall be in place by July 1, 2011.
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No railroad may change or modify the warning device system |
at a
railroad-highway grade crossing, including warning |
systems interconnected with
highway traffic control signals, |
without having first received the approval of
the Commission. |
The Commission shall have the further power, upon application,
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upon its own motion, or upon
complaint and after having made |
proper investigation, to require
the interconnection of grade |
crossing warning devices with traffic control
signals at |
highway intersections located at or near railroad crossings |
within
the distances described by the State Manual on Uniform |
Traffic Control Devices
adopted pursuant to Section 11-301 of |
this Code. In addition, State and local
authorities may not |
install, remove, modernize, or otherwise modify traffic
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control signals at a highway intersection that is |
interconnected or proposed to
be interconnected with grade |
crossing warning devices when the change affects
the number, |
type, or location of traffic control devices on the track |
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approach
leg or legs of the intersection or the timing of the |
railroad preemption
sequence of operation until the Commission |
has approved the installation,
removal, modernization, or |
modification.
Commission approval shall be limited to |
consideration of
issues directly affecting the public safety at |
the railroad-highway grade
crossing. The electrical circuit |
devices, alternate warning devices, and
preemption sequences |
shall conform as nearly as possible, considering the
particular |
characteristics of the crossing and
intersection area, to the |
State manual adopted by the Illinois Department of
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Transportation pursuant to Section 11-301 of this Code and such |
federal
standards as are made applicable by subsection (2) of |
this Section. In order
to carry out this authority, the |
Commission shall have the authority to
determine the number, |
type, and location of traffic control devices on the
track |
approach leg or legs of the intersection and the timing of the |
railroad
preemption sequence of operation.
The Commission |
shall prescribe the division of costs for installation and
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maintenance of all devices required by this paragraph between |
the railroad or
railroads and the highway authority in interest |
and in instances involving the
use of the Grade Crossing |
Protection Fund or a State highway, the Illinois
Department of |
Transportation.
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Any person who unlawfully or maliciously removes, throws
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down, damages or defaces any sign, signal, gate or other
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protective device, located at or near any public grade
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crossing, shall be guilty of a petty offense and fined not
less |
than $50 nor more than $200 for each offense. In
addition to |
fines levied under the provisions of this
Section a person |
adjudged guilty hereunder may also be
directed to make |
restitution for the costs of repair or
replacement, or both, |
necessitated by his misconduct.
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It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to enhance |
public safety
by establishing safe grade crossings. In order to |
implement this policy, the
Illinois Commerce Commission is |
directed to conduct public hearings and to
adopt specific |
criteria by July 1, 1994, that shall be adhered to by the
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Illinois Commerce Commission in determining if a grade crossing |
should be
opened or abolished. The following factors shall be |
considered by the
Illinois Commerce Commission in developing |
the specific criteria for opening
and abolishing grade |
crossings:
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(a) timetable speed of passenger trains;
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(b) distance to an alternate crossing;
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(c) accident history for the last 5 years;
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(d) number of vehicular traffic and posted speed |
limits;
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(e) number of freight trains and their timetable |
speeds;
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(f) the type of warning device present at the grade |
crossing;
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(g) alignments of the roadway and railroad, and the |
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angle of intersection
of those alignments;
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(h) use of the grade crossing by trucks carrying |
hazardous materials,
vehicles carrying passengers for |
hire, and school buses; and
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(i) use of the grade crossing by emergency vehicles.
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The Illinois Commerce Commission, upon petition to open or |
abolish a grade
crossing, shall enter an order opening or |
abolishing the crossing if it meets
the specific criteria |
adopted by the Commission.
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Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (3), in no |
instance shall
a grade crossing be permanently closed
without |
public hearing first being held and notice of such
hearing |
being published in an area newspaper of local general
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circulation.
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(4) Freight Trains - Radio Communications.
The Commission |
shall after hearing and order require that
every main line |
railroad freight train operating on main
tracks outside of yard |
limits within this State shall be
equipped with a radio |
communication system. The Commission
after notice and hearing |
may grant exemptions from the
requirements of this Section as |
to secondary and branch
lines.
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(5) Railroad Bridges and Trestles - Walkway and Handrail.
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In cases in which the Commission finds the same to be
practical |
and necessary for safety of railroad employees,
bridges and |
trestles, over and upon which railroad trains are
operated, |
shall include as a part thereof, a safe and
suitable walkway |
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and handrail on one side only of such bridge
or trestle, and |
such handrail shall be located at the outer
edge of the walkway |
and shall provide a clearance of not less
than 8 feet, 6 |
inches, from the center line of the nearest
track, measured at |
right angles thereto.
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(6) Packages Containing Articles for First Aid to Injured |
on Trains.
All rail carriers shall provide a package containing |
the
articles prescribed by the Commission, on each train or
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engine, for first aid to persons who may be injured in the
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course of the operation of such trains.
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(7) Abandoned Bridges, Crossings, and Other Rail Plant.
The |
Commission shall have authority, after notice and hearing, to |
order:
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(a) The removal of any abandoned railroad tracks from |
roads,
streets or other thoroughfares in this State; and
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(b) The removal of abandoned overhead railroad |
structures
crossing highways, waterways, or railroads.
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The Commission may equitably apportion the cost of such
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actions between the rail carrier or carriers, public utilities, |
and
the State, county, municipality, township, road district, |
or
other public authority in interest.
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(8) Railroad-Highway Bridge Clearance. A vertical |
clearance of not less
than 23 feet
above the top of rail shall |
be provided for all new or reconstructed highway
bridges |
constructed over a railroad track. The Commission may permit a |
lesser
clearance if it determines
that the 23 foot clearance |