GLXS Conference Presentations

Monday, August 4th

Session 1 – Welcome & Keynote Speakers
Welcome
Andreas Cangellaris – Dean, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Keynote Address
Michael Stead – Rail Safety Program Administrator, Illinois Commerce Commission
[presentation]
Keynote Address
Joseph Szabo – Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
Keynote Address
Norman Carlson – Director, Metra Commuter Rail Board

 

Session 2A – Regulatory Approaches to Safety
Grade Crossing Safety: An Overview of the Statutory & Regulatory Framework in the U.S.
Orest Dachniwsky – BNSF Railway
[presentation]
An Analysis of the Effect of Implementation of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 224 on Auto Road Crossing Accidents
Tom Blankenship – Federal Railroad Administration
[presentation]
The Economic and Social Impact of Railroad Incidents
Hilary Konczal – Metra Commuter Railroad
[presentation]
Enforcement Issues Around Level Crossings: Indian Scenario
Vinod Bhatia – Ministry of Railways
Session 2B – Driver Behavior & Accidents at Crossings
Gaze Direction and Driving Behavior of Drivers at Level Crossings
Jan Grippenkoven – German Aerospace Center
Evaluation of Emerging Intelligent Transport Systems to Improve Safety on Level Crossing – An Overview
Gregoire Larue – Queensland University of Technology
Mitigating Risky Behavior of Delayed Road Users at Occupied Highway-Railway Crossings: Review of Research and Issues
Daniel Blais Transport Canada, Transportation Development Centre
[presentation]
eLearning: Target School Bus Drivers
Wende Corcoran – Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
[presentation]
Session 2C – Making the Case for Grade Crossing Improvements
Prioritizing and Funding Grade Crossing Safety Projects in the United States; An Overview of the Section 130 Program
James Dahlem – Federal Highway Administration
[presentation]
National Program of Railway Safety in Urban Areas
Mario Dirani – National Department of Transport Infrastructure
[presentation]
A Perfect Storm
Aidan Nelson – Community Safety Partnerships Ltd.
[presentation]
Session 3A – Crossing Safety Initiatives in Illinois: CREATE
CREATE Program Overview
Jeffrey Sriver – Chicago Department of Transportation
Focus on CREATE Grade Separation Projects
Emily Kushto – Illinois Department of Transportation
Chicago’s “911 Critical Crossing” Protocol
Joe Alonzo – Chicago Department of Transportation
Case Study: 130th/Torrence Grade Separation Project
Soliman Khudeira – Chicago Department of Transportation
Session 3B – Crossing Consolidation & Closure
Development of Railroad Highway Grade Crossing Consolidation Rating Formula
Phillip Meraz – Iowa State University
[presentation]
Traffic Separation Studies and Crossing Consolidation
Jason Field – Moffatt & Nichol Engineers
[presentation]
Planning Methods for Decision-Support on Grade Separation Improvements Program in Southern California
Chiranjivi Sarma Bhamidipati – Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
[presentation]
Session 4A – Crossing Safety Initiatives in Illinois: Springfield/HSR
X-ITCS Implementation on the Chicago-St. Louis HrSR Corridor (IDOT)
Tom Hunter – Parsons Brinckerhoff
[presentation]
Rail Consolidation to Eliminate Level Crossings
Jim Moll – Hanson Professional Services
[presentation]
Understanding the Transition Behavior of Railroad Track at Grade Crossings on High Speed Rail Shared Corridors (UIUC)
Francesco Bedini – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
[presentation]
Session 4B – Crossing Incident Tracking & Response
Emergency Railroad Incident Response and Investigation
Eric T. Graf – CN Railroad Police
TxDOT Incident Tracking
Brann Greager – Jacobs Engineering, Inc.
Level Crossing Fatality Rates
Andrew Evans – Imperial College London
[presentation]
Predicting Gate Down Violations at Crossings
Robert Rescot – Purdue University, Calumet
[presentation]

Tuesday, August 5th

Session 5A – Road Intersections Near Level Crossings (1)
Intersections Near Level Crossings – A U.S. Perspective
Rick Campbell – CTC, Inc.
Intersection Awareness in Illinois
Brian Vercruysse – Illinois Commerce Commission
[presentation]
Intersections Near Level Crossings – Texas Findings
Robert Travis – Texas Department of Transportation, Traffic Operations
[presentation]
Session 5B – Improving Railway and Public Safety
Two Pilot Tests for the Prevention of Railway Trespassing in Finland
Anne Silla – VTT
A Case Example on Educating Sudents on the Challenges of Urbanized At-Grade Crossings
Leslie McCarthy – Villanova University
[presentation]
Railroad Trespass Abatement using Drone/UAV Technology
Richard Gent – Nevada Operation Lifesaver
Railroad Chaplains – Expressing the Compassion and Care of America’s Finest Railroads
Andy Bunn – Railroad Chaplains
[presentation]
Session 6A – Road Intersections Near Level Crossings (2)
Panel Discussion / Q & A
Rick Campbell – CTC, Inc., Brian Vercruysse – Illinois Commerce Commission, and Robert Travis – Texas Department of Transportation, Traffic Operations
Session 6B – Findings of Accident/Incident Investigations
Findings & Recommendations of 26 Coronial Investigations from 13 RLX Crashes 2002-2009 in Victoria, Australia
Terry Spicer – Rail Level Crossing (RLX) Safety Management International Pty Ltd.
[presentation]
Level Crossing Crash Taxonomy for Connected Vehicle Safety Research
Adrian Hellman – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
[presentation]
Combination of Microscopic and Macroscopic Models for Analysis of Accidents at Railroad Grade Crossings
Juan Medina & Rahim Benekohal (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
[presentation]
Applied Simulation for Rail Crossing Economics and Safety Analysis
Hao Zhou – Moffatt & Nichols Engineers
[presentation]
Session 6C – Evaluation of Grade Crossing Safety and Trespasser Prevention Projects
FRA R&D Evaluation Framework and Overview of Grade Crossing and Trespass Evaluation Projects
Michael Coplen – Federal Railroad Administration
[presentation]
Potential Countermeasures to Mitigate Suicides on the Railroad Rights-of-Way
Scott Gabree – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
[presentation]
Global Railway Alliance for Suicide Prevention (GRASP): An International Working Group of Railway Suicide Experts
Michael Martino – Association of American Railroads
[presentation]
Evaluating Community-Based Approaches to Trespass Prevention
Starr Kidda – Federal Railroad Administration, David Lamm-Luhr, and Aaron Jette – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
[presentation]
Session 7A – The Role of Media in Reducing Incidents
Panel Discussion
Kris Havermehl – WBBM-TV Chicago (CBS2)
Marni Pyke – Daily Herald [presentation]
Scott Gabree – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center [presentation]
Session 7B – Planning for Crossing Improvements
It’s Not a Crossing, It’s a Corridor
Don Sepulveda – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Optimal Grade Crossing Project Selection for Improved Running Time on Passenger Rail Corridors
Tyler Dick – University of Illinois
[presentation]
Developing a Safety Program at UTA
Dave Goeres – Utah Transit Authority
[presentation]
Session 8A – Crossing Data Management
Data Management Technology as a Means to Optimize Grade Crossing Improvements on Transportation Infrastructure
Ric Cruz, Dylan Liverman – Tavla Solutions, Drew Thomas – North Carolina Department of Transportation
[presentation]
Visual Data: 3-Dimensional Laser Scanning
Phillip Daum – Engineering Systems, Inc.
Distracted Driving at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
Aemal Khattak – University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[presentation]
FRA Autonomous Grade Crossing Survey System
Soheil Saadat – ENSCO, Inc.
Session 8B – Driver Response & Enforcement
Driver Behavior at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings with Passive Traffic Controls: A Driving Simulator Study
Assad Khattak – University of Tenessee, Knoxville
[presentation]
Driver Response to Grade Crossings and the Effects of Different Warning Types
Myounghoon Jeon – Michigan Technological University
Does Enforcement Change User Behavior
Darren Furness – NetworkRail
[presentation]
Using Photo Enforcement To Increase Rail Crossing Safety
Anthony Parrino & Patrick Howley – Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc.
Session 8C – Suicide Prevention
Analysis of Fatal Train-Pedestrian Collisions in Metropolitan Chicago 2004-2012
Ian Savage – Northwestern University
[presentation]
Preventing Railway Suicide and Trespass: A Toolbox for Evaluation and Implementation of Measures
Grigore M. Havarneanu – International Union of Railways, Anne Silva – VTT
[presentation]
An Evaluation of a National Suicide Prevention Programme
Ann Mills – RSSB
[presentation]
A Geospatial Approach to Understanding Suicides at Stations and Level Crossings
Jay Heavisides – RSSB
[presentation]

Wednesday, August 6th

Session 9A – Safety Issues at Private/Agricultural Crossings
Panel Discussion Session (International)
Steven Neubauer – BNSF Railway
Kevin Rund – Illinois Farm Bureau
Donal Casey – Railway Safety Commission, Ireland – [presentation]
Lei Tian – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Steve Laffey – Illinois Commerce Commission – [presentation]
Session 9B – Vehicle/Obstacle Detection (1)
Radar Vehicle Detection Within Four Quadrant Gate Crossings
Dylan Horne – Moffatt & Nichol Engineers
[presentation]
Radar-Based Vehicle Detection for Four-Quadrant Gate Crossing Warning Systems
Tom Hilleary – Island Radar Company LLC
[presentation]
Level Crossing 3D Obstacle Detection
Riccardo Dallara – SelectraVision
[presentation]
Vehicle Detection at Level Crossings in Illinois; History of Four Quadrant Gates in Illinois
Brian Vercruysse – Illinois Commerce Commission
[presentation]
Session 10A – Crossing Safety Advocacy & Awareness
Twenty Years of Railroad Safety Advocacy…and Counting
Lanny F. Wilson, M.D. – DuPage Railroad Safety Council
[presentation]
The Positive Effects of the Safety Program – “Train is Always Faster”
Danijela Baric – University of Zagreb
[presentation]
ILCAD, The Unique Worldwide Road/Rail Safety Awareness Campaign
Isabelle Fonverne – International Union of Railways
[presentation]
“See Tracks? Think Train!” Operation Lifesaver’s National Safety Campaign Update
Joyce Rose – Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
[presentation]
Session 10B – Obstacle Detectors at Level Crossings: Experimental Feedback and Conditions for Success
Obstacle Detectors at Level Crossings: Experimental Feedback and Conditions for Success
Olivier Cazier – RFF
[presentation]
Modular Microprocessor Level Crossing Protection System Type RLC23 for Safety Integrity Level SIL4
Darko Barisic, Zvonimir Viduka – ALTPRO d.o.o.
Vital Inductive Loop Processor Detection
Rick Campbell – CTC, Inc.
[presentation]
Session 10C – Risk Analysis at Level Crossings
A New Cost-Benefit Methodology for Highway-Railway At-Grade Crossing Safety Programs
Ali Rezvani – Moffatt & Nichol Engineers, Drew Thomas – North Carolina Department of Transportation, Ric Cruz – Tavla Solutions
[presentation]
A ‘Safe System’ Approach to Level Crossings
Donal Casey – Railway Safety Commission
[presentation]
Improving Safety of Rail Operation by Exploring Risk Modeling Analysis of Accidents at Level-Crossing: Case Study of Thailand
Tongkarn Kaewchalermtong – Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, Ataphon Kawprasert – State Railway of Thailand
[presentation]
Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Challenges for Shared Operations
Samantha Chadwick – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Session 11A – Education & Outreach
Network Rail: Everyone Home Safe Everyday
Paul Titterton – NetworkRail
[presentation]
Education for Level Crossings Passerby
Taro Kitamura, Takuji Honzawa – East Japan Railway Company
[presentation]
Evaluation of Education and Outreach Methods and Strategies: A Case Study of a Web-Based Rail Safety Education Initiative
Suzanne Horton – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
[presentation]
Changing Attitudes to Change Behavior
Leah Waymark, Naomi Fauenfelder – TrackSAFE Foundation
[presentation]
Session 11B – Crossing Safety Technology (1)
Extending the Approach Zone at Passive Level Crossings: Improving Train Detection and Driver Decision-Making
Christina M. Rudin-Brown – Transportation Safety Board
[presentation]
Preliminary Analysis of LED Enhanced Signs at a Passive Rural Level Crossing
Adrian Hellman – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
[presentation]
Cooperative ITS to Improve Safety at Level Crossing
Jugdutt (Jack) Singh – La Trobe University
[presentation]
Session 11C – Crossing Safety Analysis & Evaluation
Benchmarking Level Crossing Safety – Why do we do it? How do we do it? And, most importantly, how can we apply what we learn?
Steve Laffey – Illinois Commerce Commission
[presentation]
An Analysis of the Impact of Quiet Zones on Highway-Rail Crossing Safety in the United States
Ronald Ries – Federal Railroad Administration
[presentation]
Quantifying Grade Crossing Condition as an Input to Modeling Safety
Teng Wang – University of Kentucky
[presentation]
Safety Analysis on Rail Highway At-Grade Crossing in Alabama
Jing Li – The University of Alabama
[presentation]
Session 12A – User Behavior at Level Crossings
Perceptions and Behavior of Non-Motorist Users at Public Railway Grade Crossings in NE Illinois: Implication for Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Evaluation
Paul Metaxatos – University of Illinois at Chicago
Understanding Community Life Around Indian Level Crossings: Addressing Level Crossing Accidents
Vinod Bhatia – Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)
Effect of Gate Skirts on Pedestrian Behavior at a Highway-Rail Grade Crossing
Marco daSilva – Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
Increasing Safety at User Worked Crossings – How Can Human Factors Be Considered in a Technical Approach?
Session 12B – Crossing Safety Technology (2)
Light Barrier on Level Crossings in the Czech Republic
Pavel Skladany, Pavel Tucka – Centrum Dopravniho Vyzkumu
[presentation]
Countermeasures for Derailment at Level Crossing in Winter
Takaki Kubo – East Japan Railway Company
[presentation]
TraxAlert Railroad Grade Crossing Warning System
David Hauser – Lightguard Systems Inc.
Efforts of Indian Railway to Reduce Level Crossing Accidents
Alok Kumar, Sanjiv Garg – Indian Railways
[presentation]