OC Transpo Operations At Railway Level Crossings

Technical Briefing Session April 9, 2014

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Railway Level Crossings in Ottawa

• There are 75 railway level crossings in Ottawa

• Of these, 20 are used by scheduled OC Transpo service

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Railway Crossing Types

Three types of railway crossings:

1. Protected with flashing lights, bells, and gates

2. Protected with flashing lights and bells only

3. Unprotected, marked with a crossbuck

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1. Protected with flashing lights, bells, and gates

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2. Protected with flashing lights and bells only

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3. Unprotected, marked with a crossbuck

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Crossings Used by OC Transpo

Location Protected with lights/bells/gates

Protected with lights/bells only

Unprotected

Transitway

Anderson

Boundary

Carp Road

Conroy

Donald B. Munro

Dunrobin

Fallowfield

Greenbank

Herzberg

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Location Protected with lights/bells/gates

Protected with lights/bells only

Unprotected

Jockvale

Lester

March

McCarthy

Merivale

Michael

Piperville

Pleasant Park

Rockdale

Strandherd

Crossings Used by OC Transpo

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OC Transpo Operating Practices

• At protected railway crossings, operators are trained to:

– Observe and follow posted speed limits when approaching crossings

– Hover their foot over the brake pedal and scan the track(s) for approaching trains.

– Slow down, listen and look both ways to make sure the way is clear before crossing the track(s).

– If the warning devices are activated, stop at least five metres from the nearest rail or gate and do not cross the track(s) until train or trains have passed and the signals have been deactivated.

– If there are red flashing warning signal lights, wait until they stop flashing and, if the crossing has a gate, wait until it is fully in the upright position before safely cross the track(s).

– This follows the requirement of the Highway Traffic Act.

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OC Transpo Operating Practices

• At unprotected crossings:

– Buses must stop at least five metres from the nearest rail

– While stopped, the driver must open the bus door, look and listen for any approaching trains

– The driver must not change gears when the bus is crossing the tracks

– Follows the requirements of the Highway Traffic Act

• Regular OC Transpo service does not operate over any unprotected crossings

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Operating Practices of Other Major Transit Systems

Transit system Always stop before crossing

Do not stop if warning devices not activated

Toronto

Montreal

Calgary

Winnipeg

Edmonton

Vancouver

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What Did OC Transpo Do In the Past?

• In September 1988, OC Transpo introduced a procedure so that all vehicles were required to stop at all level crossings at all times

• This policy was introduced following representation by a local school board

• Safety was cited as the main reason for the introduction of the policy

• The procedure was opposed by the former City of Nepean

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What Did OC Transpo Do In The Past?

• In February 1992, the policy was rescinded following discussions between OC Transpo and Transport Canada officials

• It was cited in an operational bulletin that the “re-timing of signal activity” had been standardized, suggesting that the policy had been introduced due to inconsistent signal timing at protected level crossings

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Summary Current Operating Practice

• At protected crossings, operators are trained and required to “hover” their foot over the brake pedal and scan the track for approaching train(s).

• At unprotected crossings, operators are trained and required to stop, look, and listen, following the law

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Next Steps That Were Taken

• OC Transpo has retained independent road / rail safety experts to provide professional advice to answer this question:

– Should OC Transpo implement a procedure whereby buses would be required to stop at protected railway crossings at grade, even when the protection is not active?

• Their analysis and recommendations follow

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MMM Group Presentation

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OC Transpo Bus Crossing

Procedures

At Railway Crossings

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Some Context

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The risk management space

Likelihood

Imp

ac

t

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Study objective

Should OC Transpo implement a

procedure whereby buses would be

required to stop at all actively

protected railway crossings at all

times?

Para Transpo not examined

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What we’ll talk about

Stop or don’t stop?

• Safety considerations

• Liability considerations

• What the literature says

• Current practices

• Legislation

• Findings: Stop or don’t stop

Warning systems

• A critical element

Conclusions & recommendations

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Safety Considerations

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What’s happening now?

Train/vehicle collisions

• Low likelihood - high severity

• 40 times fatality/injury rate

Other non-train crossing collisions

• 5 times as likely

• e.g. Rear-end/vehicle stopped, fixed object, etc.

Both affect risk management

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Key Risk Elements

Crossing time/Exposure

• Addressed in physical design (RTD-10)

• Linked to warning time and pre-emption

• Verify and document

• New procedures under review

Non-train collision risk

• Influenced by operating procedures

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Liability Considerations

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Public Safety & Liability

Compliance with established practices:

• RTD-10 and Railway Safety Act

• HTA & legislation

• Signal and warning systems

• Failsafe design of warning devices

• Consider crossing as a whole

• Defensible crossing procedures

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The Literature

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What’s in the literature

Limited specific information

• Nothing on transit procedures

• Focus on school buses & hazardous loads

A seminal document:

• 1985 FHWA study

• No stopping increases safety

• Stopping increases risk of crashes

• Stopping increases crossing time

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FHWA Study Finding

“Not requiring stops would result in a net

annual decrease in train-involved

accidents for hazardous material

transporters, school buses, and

passenger buses of 2.6%, 10.8%

and17.4% respectively.”

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Another Key Finding

“Intuitively, many people think that requiring buses to

stop at inactive crossings equipped with active

protection would offer some safety advantages. The

reality however is that there does not appear to be any

quantitative evidence indicating that stopping transit

buses at these crossings improves road safety

performance. To the contrary, the literature indicates

that stopping these buses at appropriately equipped

crossings will likely result in more collisions overall at

the crossing.”

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Current Practices

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What are others doing?

Two alternative policies: go/stop

Both practices applied across NA

• Operation Life Saver – does not pronounce

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Legislation

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Legislation

Current practice compliant with HTA

Quebec requires stopping

Practices vary within Canada

In general:

• School buses & dangerous goods must stop

• Motor coaches are sometimes mentioned (US)

• Public transit rarely addressed

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Findings:

Stop or Don’t Stop?

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Effects of stopping

Net increase in train-vehicle collisions (17.4%)

• Despite minor reduction in vehicle hitting train collisions (3.3%)

• May address total failure of the warning system & failsafe

Greater exposure to train crash risk

• It takes longer to cross

Increased driver workload

• Greater potential for error

Creates vehicle/vehicle conflicts:

• Rear end, sideswipe, run-off-road, fixed object…

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What does this all mean? (1)

A risk management choice

Overall risk must be considered

No quantitative evidence to support stopping

Current practice is defensible

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What does this all mean? (2)

The basic question:

Assuming all actively protected crossings in

the City comply with or exceed the provisions

of RTD-10 and incorporate a failsafe mode,

then the current bus crossing policy is

sustainable and appropriate.

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Warning Systems

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Active protection

Lights, bells and gates

Lights and bells only

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However …

The finding does not distinguish between

levels of active protection

Differences in levels of safety performance

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Warrants

“Warrants” help select warning device type

Current warrants do not specifically consider

transit and its unique risks

• Potential for very severe impacts.

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Conclusions &

Recommendations

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Conclusion

Current “no stop” policy for actively protected

crossings is appropriate

• Superior safety performance when compared to stopping policy

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Recommendations

Buses should use only gated crossings

• Improved safety effectiveness

All at-grade HR crossings in the City of Ottawa

should be re-examined for compliance when

new TC and/or TSB guidelines are issued.

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Thank You

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Conclusions

• To date, there has been no observation, order, direction or recommendation for OC Transpo to change its current operating practice.

• TSB is reviewing whether buses should be required to stop at crossings.

• Taking all factors into account, the overall safety performance of protected railway crossings is higher if buses do not stop when the warning devices are not activated.

• This position is supported by engineering research and is consistent with HTA scheme, and staff considers this practice to be the safest operational practice for OC Transpo buses traversing protected railway crossings when the warning devices are note activated.

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Conclusions (Cont’d)

• Recommendation from independent road / rail safety experts is to make no change to current OC Transpo operating practice.

• Their findings are that having buses stop at railway crossings when warning devices are not activated would reduce safety.

• HTA does not require transit buses to stop at railway crossings when warning devices are not activated.

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Next Steps

• Continuing cooperation with TSB and other authorities

• Awaiting findings from TSB

• Consider any recommendations from TSB or other authorities

• Continue dialogue with VIA and railway companies

• Advise Canadian Urban Transit Association members of this report

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Next Steps (Cont’d)

• Install gates at four crossings because there are no alternate routes available that do not include ungated crossings:

– Herzberg

– Lester

– March

– McCarthy

• Explore options to serve customers in Village of Carp without using ungated crossings there

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Next Steps (Cont’d) • Continue work to respond to ESDC direction:

– Examine railway crossings as a part of the workplace for transit employees

– Consider ergonomic factors

– Consultants engaged

– Field work has begun

– Additional field work in late summer with full foliage

– Report back to ESDC before end of 2014

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Questions?