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| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_SB1136ren SB1136 Re-enrolled 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 Re-enrolled -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 single 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. Under no 13 circumstances will a moving train be stopped for the purposes 14 of issuing a citation related to this Section. 15 However, no employee acting under the rules or orders of 16 the rail carrier or its supervisory personnel may be 17 prosecuted for a violation of this subsection (b)such18violations. 19 (c) Punishment for Obstruction of Grade Crossing. 20 Any rail carrier violating paragraph (b) of this 21 subsection shall be guilty of a petty offense and fined 22 not less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration of 23 the obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no longer 24 than 15 minutes. If the duration of the obstruction 25 exceeds 15 minutes the violation shall be a business 26 offense and the following fines shall be imposed: if the 27 duration of the obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes 28 but no longer than 20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if 29 the duration of the obstruction is in excess of 20 30 minutes but no longer than 25 minutes, the fine shall be 31 $700; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess of 32 25 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, the fine shall 33 be $900; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess 34 of 30 minutes but no longer than 35 minutes, the fine SB1136 Re-enrolled -3- SDS/910017/AMdo 1 shall be $1,000; if the duration of the obstruction is in 2 excess of 35 minutes, the fine shall be $1,000 plus an 3 additional $500 for each 5 minutes of obstruction in 4 excess of 25 minutes of 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 SB1136 Re-enrolled -4- SDS/910017/AMdo 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 SB1136 Re-enrolled -5- SDS/910017/AMdo 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. 89-699, eff. 1-16-97; 90-187, eff. 1-1-98.)