14 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Miami (FL) Herald, 5/20/22

‘There’s no silver bullet’: Train officials discuss South Florida rail line safety tactics

 

 

Less than a week after a Brightline train hit and killed a Broward County scooter rider, Brightline, Tri-Rail and Amtrak officials gathered Friday at a private meeting in Miami to share insights about how South Florida communities can have better railway safety.

 

SNIP

 

The Federal Railroad Administration’s invitation-only gathering, called the “Railroad Trespass Summit,” brought together passenger train operators, local and state leaders plus rail regulators to discuss better safety measures and possible grant funding for rail line enhancements.

 

Ben Porritt, Brightline’s senior vice president of corporate affairs, said that railroad safety can only improve with community involvement and the allocation of public resources to make railways more safe.

 

“It is a shared responsibility between us and the communities in which we operate to educate, enforce and engineer the solutions,” Porritt said.

 

Brightline is working with the Florida Department of Transportation on an application for a $25 million federal grant toward a planned $45 million investment on renovations of rail line crossings in South Florida and fencing to limit access along its rail line. Brightline and the state transportation department each has made a $10 million commitment to the rail improvements.

 

 

 

More here.   

[CNJRoss]

South Florida Sun Sentinel, Deerfield Beach, FL 6/3/22

 

Brightline, Broward police agencies start safety crackdown to reduce rail crossing deaths

 

 

Brightline, the Broward Sheriff’s Office and several other police departments are launching a joint safety campaign to cut down on the spate of train-vehicle collisions at railroad crossings along the Florida East Railway corridor in the county.

 

Dubbed “Operation Crossing Guard,” the program is intended to impose “zero tolerance enforcement” of laws designed to keep motorists and pedestrians safe when traveling or walking across tracks.

 

At a joint news conference Friday at the Brightline station in downtown Fort Lauderdale, officials said the campaign will run from June 6 through June 17 at railroad crossings along the FEC/Brightline corridor throughout Broward County.

 

 

Continue here.  

[CNJRoss]

WFOR-TV, Miami, FL  6/14/22

 

Operation Crossing Guard finds drivers violating rules at railroad crossings

 

 

DEERFIELD BEACH - Just a few days after the Broward County Sheriff's Office partnered with Brightline for Operation Crossing Guard, statistics from the first 4 days reveal how drivers are breaking the law.

 

"Just like a red light as soon as that light turns red that traffic signal is now considered you must stop," Sgt. Todd Michael with Broward Sheriff's Office said.

 

Signs near each railway crossing tell drivers exactly where to stop, yet nearly every single time, drivers stopped far past the line.  "So it's just getting the mindset out to the general public right now."

 

Operation Cross Guard kicked off last week.  "What you're seeing is motor deputies as well as vehicles from patrol watching traffic maintaining that visual of what's going on constantly," Michael said.

 

It also includes citations.  A ticket for trying to get around a downed arm is $205.

 

 Continue here w/video report.  

[CNJRoss]

South Florida Sun Sentinel, Deerfield Beach, FL 6/20/22

 

 

Broward police agencies dole out 500+ citations in less than two weeks of railroad crossing enforcement

 

 

A line of cars crept over warning paint and across railroad tracks, then pulled up to a red light at Hillsboro Boulevard and Dixie Highway on Thursday morning. The drivers stuck in the middle of the traffic sat still on the tracks. They had no escape if a train came barreling down.

 

“Look at that, it’s like follow the leader,” said sergeant Allen Adkins of the Broward Sheriff’s Office. He and two deputies were stationed at the Deerfield Beach tracks, which services Florida East Coast Railway freight trains and high-speed Brightline commuter trains.

 

A Brightline train had passed through just two minutes earlier. Adkins reflected on the close call and signaled for one of his deputies to start writing tickets.

 

In a span of two hours before 9 a.m., Adkins and his fellow officers cited more than 15 drivers for railroad safety violations at the crossing in Deerfield Beach on Thursday alone.  . . .

 

 

Continue here.  

[KevinKorell]

The latest timeline update from the Miami New Times,  7/3/23:

 

 

    Death Train: A Timeline of Brightline Fatalities in South Florida UPDATED    

 

 

Within a few hours of returning to South Florida in November 2021, after a 20-month hiatus during the pandemic, Brightline was already off to a rough start.

 

Here is the latest.