On December 17th, 2014, the Canada Gazette published the new Grade Crossings Regulations (Statutory Order and Regulations 2014-275) pursuant to the Railway Safety Act. The intended purpose of the new Regulations is to address gaps within the existing voluntary standards and regulations to improve safety performance of grade crossings of all federally regulated railroads and reduce fatalities, injuries, property damage and environmental damage at crossings. While the new Regulations establish enforceable safety standards, they also outline the roles and responsibilities of both the railroads and road authorities in terms of information sharing on operational characteristics, infrastructure at new and existing crossings, and sightlines. Railroads and road authorities will need to work collaboratively to ensure all existing public crossings (approximately 14,000 across Canada) meet or exceed the standards set out in the Regulations within the next seven years to improve safety at grade crossings for all transportation users and avoid potential financial penalties.
This paper provides an overview of the GCR, including how the GCR will be enforced and the roles and responsibilities of road authorities and railway companies, and provides an approach for road authorities to prioritize and allocate resources to comply with the new regulations. Specifically this paper describes an approach to comply with the information sharing requirements and to identify significant grade crossing investments that may necessitate several years to implement.