The Railroad Safety Team's Mission is to reduce or eliminate hazards associated with at-grade railroad crossings.

In addition to crash data, risk assessment, and public concerns, the team systematically reviews every public, at-grade railroad crossing in the State of Georgia to identify needed improvements.

Efforts to reduce or eliminate hazards include but are not limited to the following:

      1. Warning Device Installations/Upgrades,

      2. Crossing Consolidations,

      3. Geometric Improvements,

      4. Signing / Pavement Marking Updates,

      5. Grade Separations,

      6. Surface Maintenance Coordination.

Section 130 Program

The Georgia Department of Transportation, Office of Utilities (Department) administers a federally funded Section 130 program to evaluate and fund railroad-highway grade crossing safety improvements at public at-grade railroad crossings throughout the state of Georgia. Improvements under this Program may include the installation of new or upgraded train activated warning devices (bells, gates, and flashing lights); signing and pavement marking upgrades; elimination of redundant or unnecessary crossings; and other measures to enhance the safety and operational characteristics of Georgia’s public railroad-highway at-grade crossings.

The Department routinely partners with local road authorities for provision of roadway improvements or other modifications needed to accommodate the Grade Crossing Safety projects. Crossings are added to the program based on several factors including but not limited to: hazard index formulas, accident history, vehicular traffic, train traffic, school bus traffic, truck traffic, sight distance, consolidation opportunities, traffic/economic growth, and roadway conditions at a crossing. The program consists of a living list of potential projects, being reprioritized as crossing conditions change. Cost and scheduling play a role in where a project may fall in the program. The links below have additional information about our program.

FAQs

What do I do about a rough crossing?

​Local Roads

For matters related to the maintenance of at-grade railroad crossings on county roads or city streets, the appropriate local government shall be notified of the situation. It is the responsibility of the local government to coordinate with the corresponding railroad to address the matter. In the event the local government and respective railroad cannot resolve the issue, the local government may appeal this matter to the Georgia Department of Transportation for review and further action in accordance with O.C.G.A Section 32-6-202.

State Routes

For matters related to the maintenance of at-grade railroad crossings located on state routes, please visit our Contact Us webpage and select Railroad Crossing Issue in the Subject field.  The correspondence should include the following information as a minimum; date, time, county, route number, road name,  Crossing Inventory Number approximate location and details on the type of complaint.

The Railroad Crossing Issue will be forwarded to the appropriate District Utilities Engineer who shall make all necessary attempts to resolve the maintenance issue with the railroad entity.  In the event the issue cannot be resolved, the District Utilities Engineer shall forward all information and documents to the State Utilities Engineer for review and further action in accordance with O.C.G.A. Section 32-6-202.

There is a train that keeps blocking the roadway for long periods of time, who can I contact?

​FRA recommends that railroads work cooperatively with state and local officials to eliminate or minimize the impact of blocked crossings wherever possible. Contact the Federal Railroad Administration to report the complaint.

There are no federal laws that regulate the length of time a train may block a grade crossing. Such a law could have the undesirable effect of causing a railroad to violate other federal safety rules.

How do I get a whistle ban / quiet zone in my area?

​The public authority in your area may establish a whistle ban or quiet zone by following the procedures established by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in the Train Horn Final Rule as amended on August 17, 2006 Ref: 49 CFR part 222. Information on this procedure can be found at the FRA website at https://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0889 or by contacting the State Railroad Crossing Program Manager