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| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_SB1136eng SB1136 Engrossed SDS/910017/AMdo 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 such obstruction occurs and the train crew is aware 15 of the obstruction, the train crew shall immediately take 16 any action, consistent with safe operating procedure, 17 necessary to remove the obstruction. In the Chicago and 18 St. Louis switching districts, every railroad dispatcher 19 or other person responsible for the movement of railroad 20 equipment in a specific area who receives notification 21 that railroad equipment is obstructing the movement of an 22 emergency vehicle at any crossing within such area shall 23 immediately notify the train crew through use of existing 24 communication facilities. Upon notification, the train 25 crew shall take immediate action in accordance with this 26 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 or,SB1136 Engrossed -2- SDS/910017/AMdo 1 railroadorcar is continuously moving or cannot be moved 2 by reason of circumstances over which the rail carrier 3 has no reasonable control. 4 In a county with a population of greater than 1,000,000, 5 as determined by the most recent federal census, during the 6 hours of 7:00 a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through 7 6:00 p.m. it is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit any 8 train or railroad car to obstruct public travel at a 9 railroad-highway grade crossing in excess of a total of 10 10 minutes during a 30 minute period, except where the train or 11 railroad car cannot be moved by reason or circumstances over 12 which the rail carrier has no reasonable control. 13 However, no employee acting under the rules or orders of 14 the rail carrier or its supervisory personnel may be 15 prosecuted for a violation of this subsection (b)such16violations. 17 (c) Punishment for Obstruction of Grade Crossing. 18 Any rail carrier violating paragraph (b) of this 19 subsection shall be guilty of a petty offense and fined 20 not less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration of 21 the obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no longer 22 than 15 minutes. If the duration of the obstruction 23 exceeds 15 minutes the violation shall be a business 24 offense and the following fines shall be imposed: if the 25 duration of the obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes 26 but no longer than 20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if 27 the duration of the obstruction is in excess of 20 28 minutes but no longer than 25 minutes, the fine shall be 29 $700; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess of 30 25 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, the fine shall 31 be $900; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess 32 of 30 minutes but no longer than 35 minutes, the fine 33 shall be $1,000; if the duration of the obstruction is in 34 excess of 35 minutes, the fine shall be $1,000 plus an SB1136 Engrossed -3- SDS/910017/AMdo 1 additional $500 for each 5 minutes of obstruction in 2 excess of 25 minutes of obstruction. 3 (2) Other Operational Requirements. 4 (a) Bell and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail carrier 5 shall cause a bell, and a whistle or horn to be placed 6 and kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same to 7 be rung or sounded by the engineer or fireman, at the 8 distance of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where the 9 railroad crosses or intersects any public highway, and 10 shall be kept ringing or sounding until the highway is 11 reached; provided that at crossings where the Commission 12 shall by order direct, only after a hearing has been held 13 to determine the public is reasonably and sufficiently 14 protected, the rail carrier may be excused from giving 15 warning provided by this paragraph. 16 (b) Speed Limits. Each rail carrier shall operate 17 its trains in compliance with speed limits set by the 18 Commission. The Commission may set train speed limits 19 only where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary 20 circumstances effecting the public safety, and shall 21 maintain such train speed limits in effect only for such 22 time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail. 23 The Commission and the Department of Transportation 24 shall conduct a study of the relation between train 25 speeds and railroad-highway grade crossing safety. The 26 Commission shall report the findings of the study to the 27 General Assembly no later than January 5, 1997. 28 (c) Special Speed Limit; Pilot Project. The 29 Commission and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of 30 the Regional Transportation Authority shall conduct a 31 pilot project in the Village of Fox River Grove, the site 32 of the fatal school bus accident at a railroad crossing 33 on October 25, 1995, in order to improve railroad 34 crossing safety. For this project, the Commission is SB1136 Engrossed -4- SDS/910017/AMdo 1 directed to set the maximum train speed limit for 2 Regional Transportation Authority trains at 50 miles per 3 hour at intersections on that portion of the intrastate 4 rail line located in the Village of Fox River Grove. If 5 the Regional Transportation Authority deliberately fails 6 to comply with this maximum speed limit, then any entity, 7 governmental or otherwise, that provides capital or 8 operational funds to the Regional Transportation 9 Authority shall appropriately reduce or eliminate that 10 funding. The Commission shall report to the Governor and 11 the General Assembly on the results of this pilot project 12 in January 1999, January 2000, and January 2001. The 13 Commission shall also submit a final report on the pilot 14 project to the Governor and the General Assembly in 15 January 2001. The provisions of this subsection (c), 16 other than this sentence, are inoperative after February 17 1, 2001. 18 (3) Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents. 19 (a) Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the 20 Commission, by the speediest means possible, whether 21 telephone, telegraph, or otherwise, every accident 22 involving its equipment, track, or other property which 23 resulted in loss of life to any person. In addition, 24 such carriers shall file a written report with the 25 Commission. Reports submitted under this paragraph shall 26 be strictly confidential, shall be specifically 27 prohibited from disclosure, and shall not be admissible 28 in any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to 29 the accidents reported. 30 (b) Investigations. The Commission may investigate 31 all railroad accidents reported to it or of which it 32 acquires knowledge independent of reports made by rail 33 carriers, and shall have the power, consistent with 34 standards and procedures established under the Federal SB1136 Engrossed -5- SDS/910017/AMdo 1 Railroad Safety Act, as amended, to enter such temporary 2 orders as will minimize the risk of future accidents 3 pending notice, hearing, and final action by the 4 Commission. 5 (Source: P.A. 89-699, eff. 1-16-97; 90-187, eff. 1-1-98.)