Highway Rail Grade Crossings

Railroad tracks, bridges, tunnels and trains are private property. People who do not have permission to be on railroad property are trespassing. Property closely surrounding the tracks is called the railroad right-of-way. It also belongs to the railroad and not only is it dangerous, but it is also illegal to be there.

Tracks are for trains, not for people; stay off! Walking on railroad tracks is dangerous and illegal. The construction and inventory of Rail Crossings on public roads throughout the Commonwealth is handled by the Utilities and Rails Branch of the KYTC Division of Right of Way and Utilities. Rail Section staff inventories the location, condition, and other information for all at-grade railroad-public roadway crossings in Kentucky. Rails Section staff also administer the federal Section 130 program that funds the improvements of rail-roadway crossings. Rails Section staff are responsible for prioritizing safety upgrades to public rail/highway crossings and the programming of funds for the work done to maintain and upgrade the crossings. For more information on Kentucky’s Highway/Railroad Crossing Safety Program, contact the Utilities and Rails Branch of the Division of Right of Way and Utilities at (502) 564-3210.

Division of Right of Way and Utilities
Utilities and Rails Branch

Blocked Crossings
Blocked crossings are a concern throughout Kentucky and are a concern to KYTC. However, any state laws governing blocked crossings are superseded by the federal government which has no federal laws/regulations pertaining to blocked crossings. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the federal agency charged with oversight of the nation's railroads. Please use this link http://www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings to report when a train is blocking a highway-rail grade crossing in Kentucky. Please report only once for each blocked crossing per day. This information is only being used to track the location and impacts of blocked crossings. The FRA's purpose of collecting this information is to learn where, when, for how long, and what impacts result from blocked highway-rail grade crossings nationally. Contact information for the FRA Safety Management teams that liaison with the nation's railroads can be found at this link: https://railroads.dot.gov/divisions/regional-offices/safety-management-teams.

Kentucky Operation Lifesaver
Kentucky Operation Lifesaver is a non-profit organization that works to prevent death and injuries at Highway-Railroad grade crossings and Railroad right-of-ways. Approximately every two hours in the United States, a person or vehicle is hit by a train. About half of all crossing collisions occur at highway-rail intersections with flashing lights and/or gates. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is a proud supporter of Kentucky Operation Lifesaver.

LOOK, LISTEN and LIVE!

Always look both ways before crossing the track
Listen for the sound of an approaching train
Before crossing tracks, remember Operation Lifesaver’s safety slogan - LOOK, LISTEN, AND LIVE!