093_HB2856

 
                                     LRB093 10273 DRH 10527 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to vehicles.

 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             (a-1)  Obstruction of a highway  while  a  train  is
27        parked  at  a  station. A railroad must ensure that, when
28        any of its trains  is  parked  at  a  station,  the  only
29        highways  that are blocked are those blocked by the train
30        itself. The railroad must ensure that all crossing  gates
31        are  open, except at those crossings where (i) the parked
 
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 1        train is  actually  blocking  the  intersection  or  (ii)
 2        another train is present or approaching.
 3             (b)  Obstruction   of   Highway  at  Grade  Crossing
 4        Prohibited. It is unlawful for a rail carrier  to  permit
 5        any  train,  railroad  car  or  engine to obstruct public
 6        travel at a railroad-highway grade crossing for a  period
 7        in  excess  of  10  minutes,  except  where such train or
 8        railroad car is continuously moving or cannot be moved by
 9        reason of circumstances over which the rail  carrier  has
10        no reasonable control.
11        In  a county with a population of greater than 1,000,000,
12    as determined by the most recent federal census,  during  the
13    hours  of  7:00  a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through
14    6:00 p.m. it is unlawful for a rail  carrier  to  permit  any
15    single  train  or railroad car to obstruct public travel at a
16    railroad-highway grade crossing in excess of a  total  of  10
17    minutes  during a 30 minute period, except where the train or
18    railroad car cannot be moved by reason or circumstances  over
19    which  the  rail carrier has no reasonable control.  Under no
20    circumstances will a moving train be stopped for the purposes
21    of issuing a citation related to this Section.
22        However, no employee acting under the rules or orders  of
23    the   rail  carrier  or  its  supervisory  personnel  may  be
24    prosecuted for a violation of this subsection (b).
25             (c)  Punishment for Obstruction of  Grade  Crossing.
26        Any   rail   carrier  violating  paragraph  (b)  of  this
27        subsection shall be guilty of a petty offense  and  fined
28        not  less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration of
29        the obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no  longer
30        than  15  minutes.   If  the  duration of the obstruction
31        exceeds 15 minutes the  violation  shall  be  a  business
32        offense and the following fines shall be imposed:  if the
33        duration  of  the  obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes
34        but no longer than 20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if
 
                            -3-      LRB093 10273 DRH 10527 b
 1        the duration of  the  obstruction  is  in  excess  of  20
 2        minutes  but no longer than 25 minutes, the fine shall be
 3        $700; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess  of
 4        25 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, the fine shall
 5        be  $900; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess
 6        of 30 minutes but no longer than  35  minutes,  the  fine
 7        shall be $1,000; if the duration of the obstruction is in
 8        excess  of  35  minutes, the fine shall be $1,000 plus an
 9        additional $500 for each  5  minutes  of  obstruction  in
10        excess of 25 minutes of obstruction.
11        (2)  Other Operational Requirements.
12             (a)  Bell  and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail carrier
13        shall cause a bell, and a whistle or horn  to  be  placed
14        and  kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same to
15        be rung or sounded by the engineer  or  fireman,  at  the
16        distance  of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where the
17        railroad crosses or intersects any  public  highway,  and
18        shall  be  kept  ringing or sounding until the highway is
19        reached; provided that at crossings where the  Commission
20        shall by order direct, only after a hearing has been held
21        to  determine  the  public is reasonably and sufficiently
22        protected, the rail carrier may be  excused  from  giving
23        warning provided by this paragraph.
24             (a-5)  The  requirements  of  paragraph  (a) of this
25        subsection (2) regarding ringing a bell  and  sounding  a
26        whistle  or horn do not apply at a railroad crossing that
27        has a permanently  installed  automated  audible  warning
28        device   authorized   by  the  Commission  under  Section
29        18c-7402.1 that sounds automatically when an  approaching
30        train  is  at least 1,320 feet from the crossing and that
31        keeps sounding until the lead locomotive has crossed  the
32        highway.   The  engineer  or fireman may ring the bell or
33        sound the whistle or horn at a railroad crossing that has
34        a permanently installed audible warning device.
 
                            -4-      LRB093 10273 DRH 10527 b
 1             (b)  Speed Limits. Each rail carrier  shall  operate
 2        its  trains  in  compliance  with speed limits set by the
 3        Commission.  The Commission may set  train  speed  limits
 4        only  where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary
 5        circumstances effecting  the  public  safety,  and  shall
 6        maintain  such train speed limits in effect only for such
 7        time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail.
 8             The Commission and the Department of  Transportation
 9        shall  conduct  a  study  of  the  relation between train
10        speeds and railroad-highway grade crossing  safety.   The
11        Commission  shall report the findings of the study to the
12        General Assembly no later than January 5, 1997.
13             (c)  Special  Speed  Limit;  Pilot   Project.    The
14        Commission and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of
15        the  Regional  Transportation  Authority  shall conduct a
16        pilot project in the Village of Fox River Grove, the site
17        of the fatal school bus accident at a  railroad  crossing
18        on  October  25,  1995,  in  order  to  improve  railroad
19        crossing  safety.   For  this  project, the Commission is
20        directed  to  set  the  maximum  train  speed  limit  for
21        Regional Transportation Authority trains at 50 miles  per
22        hour  at  intersections on that portion of the intrastate
23        rail line located in the Village of Fox River  Grove.  If
24        the  Regional Transportation Authority deliberately fails
25        to comply with this maximum speed limit, then any entity,
26        governmental  or  otherwise,  that  provides  capital  or
27        operational  funds   to   the   Regional   Transportation
28        Authority  shall  appropriately  reduce or eliminate that
29        funding. The Commission shall report to the Governor  and
30        the General Assembly on the results of this pilot project
31        in  January  1999,  January  2000,  and January 2001. The
32        Commission shall also submit a final report on the  pilot
33        project  to  the  Governor  and  the  General Assembly in
34        January 2001.  The provisions  of  this  subsection  (c),
 
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 1        other  than this sentence, are inoperative after February
 2        1, 2001.
 3        (3)  Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents.
 4             (a)  Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the
 5        Commission, by  the  speediest  means  possible,  whether
 6        telephone,   telegraph,   or  otherwise,  every  accident
 7        involving its equipment, track, or other  property  which
 8        resulted  in  loss  of  life to any person.  In addition,
 9        such carriers  shall  file  a  written  report  with  the
10        Commission.  Reports submitted under this paragraph shall
11        be   strictly   confidential,   shall   be   specifically
12        prohibited from disclosure,  and shall not be  admissible
13        in  any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to
14        the accidents reported.
15             (b)  Investigations. The Commission may  investigate
16        all  railroad  accidents  reported  to  it or of which it
17        acquires knowledge independent of reports  made  by  rail
18        carriers,  and  shall  have  the  power,  consistent with
19        standards and procedures established  under  the  Federal
20        Railroad  Safety Act, as amended, to enter such temporary
21        orders as will minimize  the  risk  of  future  accidents
22        pending   notice,   hearing,  and  final  action  by  the
23        Commission.
24    (Source: P.A. 91-675, eff. 6-1-00; 92-284, eff. 8-9-01.)