FRA Rail Grade Crossing iPhone and iPad App

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The FRA has released an app called Rail Crossing Locator for iPhones and iPads. It provides information on 200,000 grade crossing in the US. Could be handy for basic info when an Amtrak grade crossing accident is in the news. Looked and it is available in the iTunes store. Free of course. Have not tried it out yet. Interesting and different app for the iPhone. Angry Birds will still have a lot more downloads.

The text of the FRA press release:

Federal Railroad Administration Launches New Smartphone App to Raise Awareness of Highway-Rail Grade Crossings

WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced the launch of an iOS smartphone mobile application, the Rail Crossing Locator, which provides the public with easy access to safety information about the nation’s more than 200,000 highway-rail grade crossings.

“Safety is our highest priority, and at the Department of Transportation, we believe that giving people better information leads to smarter and safer travel,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “With the Rail Crossing Locator, individuals can use a mobile app to access information wherever they are to improve neighborhood safety and make better personal travel choices.”

The Rail Crossing Locator app works by prompting users to enter a specific location, which then allows them to locate highway-rail grade crossings in their area and retrieve important information, such as the physical characteristics of a crossing and the type of traffic control devices used. The app allows users to report information about grade crossings to the FRA to ensure the most accurate and up-to-date information is available. This new app is free through Apple’s App Store and can be used on any iPhone or iPad.

Over the past decade, highway-rail incidents have declined by 34 percent, and deaths resulting from these events have fallen 30 percent. However, while the total number of incidents has been trending downward, collisions at highway-rail crossings remain a challenge to safety. Last year alone, highway-rail crossing collisions accounted for nearly 20 percent of all reportable rail accidents and incidents and represented nearly one-third of all rail-related fatalities.

“While we’ve made significant progress in the reduction of highway-grade crossing incidents over the last decade, much more work remains to be done,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “This technology will be one more tool to help us reach our goal of zero fatalities.”

The continuing decline in crossing incidents, injuries and fatalities is attributable to ongoing multifaceted public education efforts, engineering approaches to improve grade crossing safety and enforcement efforts carried out by FRA, railroads, states, localities, Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) and other partners.

 

[afigg]

Installed the Rail Crossing Locator on my iPhone and iPad. It is a dual iPhone and iPad app, BTW, so there is a full screen display on the iPad. The app shows all rail grade crossings in 3 colors, for at-grade and then seperated rail above or below crossing. Have not found a way to turn off the display of the seperated grade crossings so only at the at-grade crossings are shown because the map gets very cluttered showing every single crossing, public, private, seperated, at-grade, etc.

Still, this is an interesting way to see where the active tracks are and just how many grade crossings there are on a route.

 

[the_traveler]

I just downloaded this app.

Without looking too far, I see a number of errors. Some include missing crossings - including one on Route 138 at the KIN station, which is above grade and has been in place for 70+ years! Other errors include at grade crossings on the NEC in RI. All at grade crossings in RI on the NEC have either been eliminated (the road severed into 2 dead end roads) or have been grade separated. This happened over 10 years ago.