FRA Awards Louisiana $1.1 Million for Increased Rail Crossing Safety
The award is part of the agency's campaign to reduce fatalities at railroad crossings.
The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $1.1 million to Louisiana in order to increase safety at railroad crossings along six miles of Kansas City Southern tracks in Baton Rouge. This is one of nine rail projects across eight states selected to receive $10 million to upgrade and increase the safety of railroad crossings.
"These grants will reduce accidents and fatalities at railroad crossings and help modernize our nation's rail system," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Through a combination of these grants, education, and enforcement, we can – and will – achieve our goal of preventing accidents and deaths at railroad crossings."
Since 2000, there have been 11 accidents that have resulted in four injuries along this part of Baton Rouge. Louisiana ranked in the top five states for fatalities at railroad crossings, with 13 fatalities in 2014.
"Families in this neighborhood travel across these tracks every day taking their children to school and going to work. But these crossings do not have all the safety measures that families and this community deserve with so many trains transporting crude oil and other energy products. Today's investment will go a long way to keep families safe and move us closer to achieving the goal of reducing fatalities at railroad crossings," said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg.