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| [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB0144
LRB9201780DHmg
1 AN ACT in relation to railroads.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
5 changing Section 18c-7402 as follows:
6 (625 ILCS 5/18c-7402) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402)
7 Sec. 18c-7402. Safety Requirements for Railroad
8 Operations.
9 (1) Obstruction of Crossings.
10 (a) Obstruction of Emergency Vehicles. Every
11 railroad shall be operated in such a manner as to
12 minimize obstruction of emergency vehicles at crossings.
13 Where such obstruction occurs and the train crew is aware
14 of the obstruction, the train crew shall immediately take
15 any action, consistent with safe operating procedure,
16 necessary to remove the obstruction. In the Chicago and
17 St. Louis switching districts, every railroad dispatcher
18 or other person responsible for the movement of railroad
19 equipment in a specific area who receives notification
20 that railroad equipment is obstructing the movement of an
21 emergency vehicle at any crossing within such area shall
22 immediately notify the train crew through use of existing
23 communication facilities. Upon notification, the train
24 crew shall take immediate action in accordance with this
25 paragraph.
26 (b) Obstruction of Highway at Grade Crossing
27 Prohibited. It is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit
28 any train, railroad car or engine to obstruct public
29 travel at a railroad-highway grade crossing for a period
30 in excess of 10 minutes, except where such train or
31 railroad car is continuously moving or cannot be moved by
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1 reason of circumstances over which the rail carrier has
2 no reasonable control.
3 In a county with a population of greater than 1,000,000,
4 as determined by the most recent federal census, during the
5 hours of 7:00 a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through
6 6:00 p.m. it is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit any
7 single train or railroad car to obstruct public travel at a
8 railroad-highway grade crossing in excess of a total of 10
9 minutes during a 30 minute period, except where the train or
10 railroad car cannot be moved by reason or circumstances over
11 which the rail carrier has no reasonable control. Under no
12 circumstances will a moving train be stopped for the purposes
13 of issuing a citation related to this Section.
14 However, no employee acting under the rules or orders of
15 the rail carrier or its supervisory personnel may be
16 prosecuted for a violation of this subsection (b).
17 (c) Punishment for Obstruction of Grade Crossing.
18 Any rail carrier violating paragraph (b) of this
19 subsection shall be guilty of a business petty offense
20 and fined more not less than $1,000 but not $200 nor more
21 than $2,500 $500 if the duration of the obstruction is in
22 excess of 10 minutes but no longer than 15 minutes. If
23 the duration of the obstruction exceeds 15 minutes the
24 violation shall be a business offense and the following
25 fines shall be imposed: if the duration of the
26 obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes but no longer than
27 20 minutes, the fine shall be $2,500 $500; if the
28 duration of the obstruction is in excess of 20 minutes
29 but no longer than 25 minutes, the fine shall be $3,500
30 $700; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess of
31 25 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, the fine shall
32 be $4,500 $900; if the duration of the obstruction is in
33 excess of 30 minutes but no longer than 35 minutes, the
34 fine shall be $5,000 $1,000; if the duration of the
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1 obstruction is in excess of 35 minutes, the fine shall be
2 $5,000 $1,000 plus an additional $2,500 $500 for each 5
3 minutes of obstruction in excess of 25 minutes of
4 obstruction.
5 (2) Other Operational Requirements.
6 (a) Bell and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail carrier
7 shall cause a bell, and a whistle or horn to be placed
8 and kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same to
9 be rung or sounded by the engineer or fireman, at the
10 distance of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where the
11 railroad crosses or intersects any public highway, and
12 shall be kept ringing or sounding until the highway is
13 reached; provided that at crossings where the Commission
14 shall by order direct, only after a hearing has been held
15 to determine the public is reasonably and sufficiently
16 protected, the rail carrier may be excused from giving
17 warning provided by this paragraph.
18 (b) Speed Limits. Each rail carrier shall operate
19 its trains in compliance with speed limits set by the
20 Commission. The Commission may set train speed limits
21 only where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary
22 circumstances effecting the public safety, and shall
23 maintain such train speed limits in effect only for such
24 time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail.
25 The Commission and the Department of Transportation
26 shall conduct a study of the relation between train
27 speeds and railroad-highway grade crossing safety. The
28 Commission shall report the findings of the study to the
29 General Assembly no later than January 5, 1997.
30 (c) Special Speed Limit; Pilot Project. The
31 Commission and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of
32 the Regional Transportation Authority shall conduct a
33 pilot project in the Village of Fox River Grove, the site
34 of the fatal school bus accident at a railroad crossing
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1 on October 25, 1995, in order to improve railroad
2 crossing safety. For this project, the Commission is
3 directed to set the maximum train speed limit for
4 Regional Transportation Authority trains at 50 miles per
5 hour at intersections on that portion of the intrastate
6 rail line located in the Village of Fox River Grove. If
7 the Regional Transportation Authority deliberately fails
8 to comply with this maximum speed limit, then any entity,
9 governmental or otherwise, that provides capital or
10 operational funds to the Regional Transportation
11 Authority shall appropriately reduce or eliminate that
12 funding. The Commission shall report to the Governor and
13 the General Assembly on the results of this pilot project
14 in January 1999, January 2000, and January 2001. The
15 Commission shall also submit a final report on the pilot
16 project to the Governor and the General Assembly in
17 January 2001. The provisions of this subsection (c),
18 other than this sentence, are inoperative after February
19 1, 2001.
20 (3) Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents.
21 (a) Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the
22 Commission, by the speediest means possible, whether
23 telephone, telegraph, or otherwise, every accident
24 involving its equipment, track, or other property which
25 resulted in loss of life to any person. In addition,
26 such carriers shall file a written report with the
27 Commission. Reports submitted under this paragraph shall
28 be strictly confidential, shall be specifically
29 prohibited from disclosure, and shall not be admissible
30 in any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to
31 the accidents reported.
32 (b) Investigations. The Commission may investigate
33 all railroad accidents reported to it or of which it
34 acquires knowledge independent of reports made by rail
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1 carriers, and shall have the power, consistent with
2 standards and procedures established under the Federal
3 Railroad Safety Act, as amended, to enter such temporary
4 orders as will minimize the risk of future accidents
5 pending notice, hearing, and final action by the
6 Commission.
7 (Source: P.A. 90-187, eff. 1-1-98; 91-675, eff. 6-1-00.)