State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_SB1534

      625 ILCS 5/18c-7402       from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402
          Amends the Illinois  Vehicle  Code.   Makes  a  technical
      change  in  a  Section concerning the safety requirements for
      railroad operation.
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 1        AN ACT to amend the Illinois  Vehicle  Code  by  changing
 2    Section 18c-7402.
 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:
 5        Section 5.  The  Illinois  Vehicle  Code  is  amended  by
 6    changing Section 18c-7402 as follows:
 7        (625 ILCS 5/18c-7402) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402)
 8        Sec.   18c-7402.    Safety   Requirements   for  Railroad
 9    Operations.
10        (1)  Obstruction of Crossings.
11             (a)  Obstruction  of   Emergency   Vehicles.   Every
12        railroad  shall  be  operated  in  such  a  manner  as to
13        minimize obstruction of emergency vehicles at  crossings.
14        Where  an  such  obstruction occurs and the train crew is
15        aware  of  the  obstruction,   the   train   crew   shall
16        immediately   take   any  action,  consistent  with  safe
17        operating procedure, necessary to remove the obstruction.
18        In the Chicago and St. Louis switching  districts,  every
19        railroad  dispatcher  or other person responsible for the
20        movement of railroad equipment in  a  specific  area  who
21        receives   notification   that   railroad   equipment  is
22        obstructing the movement of an emergency vehicle  at  any
23        crossing  within  the  such area shall immediately notify
24        the train crew  through  use  of  existing  communication
25        facilities.  Upon notification, the train crew shall take
26        immediate action in accordance with this paragraph.
27             (b)  Obstruction   of   Highway  at  Grade  Crossing
28        Prohibited. It is unlawful for a rail carrier  to  permit
29        any  train,  railroad  car  or  engine to obstruct public
30        travel at a railroad-highway grade crossing for a  period
31        in  excess  of  10  minutes,  except  where  such  train,
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 1        railroad or car is continuously moving or cannot be moved
 2        by  reason  of  circumstances over which the rail carrier
 3        has no reasonable control.  However, no  employee  acting
 4        under  the  rules  or  orders  of the rail carrier or its
 5        supervisory  personnel  may  be   prosecuted   for   such
 6        violations.
 7             (c)  Punishment  for  Obstruction of Grade Crossing.
 8        Any  rail  carrier  violating  paragraph  (b)   of   this
 9        subsection  shall  be guilty of a petty offense and fined
10        not less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration  of
11        the  obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no longer
12        than 15 minutes.  If  the  duration  of  the  obstruction
13        exceeds  15  minutes  the  violation  shall be a business
14        offense and the following fines shall be imposed:  if the
15        duration of the obstruction is in excess  of  15  minutes
16        but no longer than 20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if
17        the  duration  of  the  obstruction  is  in  excess of 20
18        minutes but no longer than 25 minutes, the fine shall  be
19        $700;  if the duration of the obstruction is in excess of
20        25 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, the fine shall
21        be $900; if the duration of the obstruction is in  excess
22        of  30  minutes  but  no longer than 35 minutes, the fine
23        shall be $1,000; if the duration of the obstruction is in
24        excess of 35 minutes, the fine shall be  $1,000  plus  an
25        additional  $500  for  each  5  minutes of obstruction in
26        excess of 25 minutes of obstruction.
27        (2)  Other Operational Requirements.
28             (a)  Bell and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail  carrier
29        shall  cause  a  bell, and a whistle or horn to be placed
30        and kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same  to
31        be  rung  or  sounded  by the engineer or fireman, at the
32        distance of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where  the
33        railroad  crosses  or  intersects any public highway, and
34        shall be kept ringing or sounding until  the  highway  is
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 1        reached;  provided that at crossings where the Commission
 2        shall by order direct, only after a hearing has been held
 3        to determine the public is  reasonably  and  sufficiently
 4        protected,  the  rail  carrier may be excused from giving
 5        warning provided by this paragraph.
 6             (b)  Speed Limits. Each rail carrier  shall  operate
 7        its  trains  in  compliance  with speed limits set by the
 8        Commission.  The Commission may set  train  speed  limits
 9        only  where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary
10        circumstances effecting  the  public  safety,  and  shall
11        maintain  such train speed limits in effect only for such
12        time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail.
13             The Commission and the Department of  Transportation
14        shall  conduct  a  study  of  the  relation between train
15        speeds and railroad-highway grade crossing  safety.   The
16        Commission  shall report the findings of the study to the
17        General Assembly no later than January 5, 1997.
18             (c)  Special  Speed  Limit;  Pilot   Project.    The
19        Commission and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of
20        the  Regional  Transportation  Authority  shall conduct a
21        pilot project in the Village of Fox River Grove, the site
22        of the fatal school bus accident at a  railroad  crossing
23        on  October  25,  1995,  in  order  to  improve  railroad
24        crossing  safety.   For  this  project, the Commission is
25        directed  to  set  the  maximum  train  speed  limit  for
26        Regional Transportation Authority trains at 50 miles  per
27        hour  at  intersections on that portion of the intrastate
28        rail line located in the Village of Fox River  Grove.  If
29        the  Regional Transportation Authority deliberately fails
30        to comply with this maximum speed limit, then any entity,
31        governmental  or  otherwise,  that  provides  capital  or
32        operational  funds   to   the   Regional   Transportation
33        Authority  shall  appropriately  reduce or eliminate that
34        funding. The Commission shall report to the Governor  and
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 1        the General Assembly on the results of this pilot project
 2        in  January  1999,  January  2000,  and January 2001. The
 3        Commission shall also submit a final report on the  pilot
 4        project  to  the  Governor  and  the  General Assembly in
 5        January 2001.  The provisions  of  this  subsection  (c),
 6        other  than this sentence, are inoperative after February
 7        1, 2001.
 8        (3)  Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents.
 9             (a)  Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the
10        Commission, by  the  speediest  means  possible,  whether
11        telephone,   telegraph,   or  otherwise,  every  accident
12        involving its equipment, track, or other  property  which
13        resulted  in  loss  of  life to any person.  In addition,
14        such carriers  shall  file  a  written  report  with  the
15        Commission.  Reports submitted under this paragraph shall
16        be   strictly   confidential,   shall   be   specifically
17        prohibited from disclosure,  and shall not be  admissible
18        in  any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to
19        the accidents reported.
20             (b)  Investigations. The Commission may  investigate
21        all  railroad  accidents  reported  to  it or of which it
22        acquires knowledge independent of reports  made  by  rail
23        carriers,  and  shall  have  the  power,  consistent with
24        standards and procedures established  under  the  Federal
25        Railroad  Safety Act, as amended, to enter such temporary
26        orders as will minimize  the  risk  of  future  accidents
27        pending   notice,   hearing,  and  final  action  by  the
28        Commission.
29    (Source: P.A. 89-699, eff. 1-16-97; 90-187, eff. 1-1-98.)

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