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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	January 31, 2013 01:15 PM
From:	Senator Lisa M. Boscola
To:	All Senate members
Subject:	Railroad Whistle post signs

In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation amending Title 66 to require railroads under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission to place whistle post signs exactly one-quarter of a mile away from all railroad crossings. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, about 3,000 railroad crossing accidents have taken place in the last 10 years with an annual rate of 1,000 deaths. In some cases, railroad crossing accidents occur because the railroad company fails to safely maintain the area around the train tracks. In other cases, devices that are designed to alert drivers that a train is coming—such as crossing gates, bells or lights—are either broken or not installed where they should be. Whistle posts notify engineers or locomotive operators to blow a whistle or ring a bell as the locomotive approaches the crossing as a warning to the members of the public. This is a reintroduction of SB 823 from the previous legislative session. Co-sponsors included: FERLO, RAFFERTY, WARD, COSTA, BROWNE, TARTAGLIONE, FONTANA, BREWSTER AND WASHINGTON,

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