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Abstract:
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For over a decade proposals for connecting the metropolitan areas of Austin and San Antonio , Texas via passenger rail have been studied . In the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2010 Rail Plan several ideas , including high -speed rail , regional Amtrak service , and a new passenger rail service have been proposed as a means to provide an alternate mode of transportation along the I -35 corridor . Union Pacific Railroad currently owns and operations a rail line that connects the Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas ; each of the passenger rail projects proposes sharing this corridor with Union Pacific . A literature review reveals that a key factor in negotiating with a freight railroad for shared use of a corridor is safety . One element of the safety risk analysis is the evaluation of at -grade highway -railroad crossing . This study discusses the Austin -San Antonio corridor , its current mobility challenges and the proposed passenger rail projects . It then discusses rail safety as expressed in the literature and provides background about safety at highway -railroad crossings . Crossing inventory and accident data , as maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA ) , is then analyzed using regression modeling in an attempt to better understand the relationship between the physical and operational characteristics of highway -railroad crossings and accidents on corridors shared by freight and passenger rail . It analyzes a five -year accident history (2005 to 2009 ) from of a sample of shared use highway -rail crossings throughout the US . The findings are then used to analyze the at -grade highway -railroad crossings along the Austin -San Antonio corridor . And finally , the implications of the findings are discussed . The findings of this report recommend that characteristics of the built environment such as land use , number of traffic lanes , and function classification of the roadway should be considered when assessing accident risk at highway -railroad crossings . In addition , this analysis reveals the need for a way to better measure safety risks at private highway -railroad crossings . |