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TRB Webinar: Deter Trespassing on Rail Rights of Way and Improve Grade Crossing Safety

This webinar was posted on 01/13/2025

Register for this webinar

Date(s)
January 28, 2025 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM U.S. Eastern
Cost (for your seat)
FREE
Professional Development Hours for this webinar
1.50 hour(s)
Continuing Education Hours for this webinar
AAE: 0.00 hour(s)
AICP: 1.50 hour(s)
CLE: 0.00 hour(s)
Details

Railroads and rail transit agencies are tasked with securing their rights of way, which often feature open access points such as grade crossings and station platforms that can lead to trespassing incidents. This creates a continuous challenge for operators and public agencies to balance security with the safe and efficient delivery of services. TRB will host a webinar on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern that will share techniques and treatments to employ to deter trespassing, ranging from physical barriers to public outreach and education. Presenters will discuss deployment of electronic surveillance through rail crossing cameras and other devices to monitor grade crossing activity and provide alerts for actions.
This webinar is based on TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way and TCRP Synthesis 177: Electronic Surveillance of Railroad-Highway Crossings for Collison Avoidance: State of the Practice.
This webinar is sponsored by TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program and the Standing Technical Committee on Rail Safety.
There is no fee to attend this webinar. Registration is required.
A recording will be sent to all registrants after the webinar.
 
Webinar agenda and presenters

  • Strategies for deterring trespassing on rail transit and commuter rail rights of way – Jeffery E. Warner, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
  • Electronic surveillance of railroad-highway crossings for collision avoidance: State of the practice – Amiy Varma, AAAJ, LLC
  • Development of railroad trespassing database using artificial intelligence – Francesco Bedini Jacobini, Federal Railroad Administration
  • Question and answer session moderated by David C. Wilcock, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

The first 60 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.
 
Learning Objectives
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the most effective methods and techniques to deploy to deter trespassing on rail rights of way
  • Analyze surveillance data collected from rail crossing cameras to enhance engineering, education, and enforcement efforts
  • Recognize the vital role grade crossing surveillance and trespasser deterrence plays in the safe operation of rail systems

 
Professional Development Hours
Professional engineers (PEs) who register and attend the entire webinar as an individual will be awarded 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). TRB’s webinar program awards PDH credits only to the registered individual, and not to other members of a group that view the webinar together. To be eligible for the credits, individuals must remain signed in for the entire webinar, including for any question and answer session following the presentations.
This webinar will be delivered as a scheduled – e-learning live event and is categorized within RCEP as Technical, Health and Safety.
Please check with your licensing board to ensure that TRB webinar PDHs are approved by your board.
TRB will report credits earned to the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Complaints about registered providers may be sent to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20005.
American Institute of Certified Planners Certification Maintenance Credits
This webinar is approved by the American Planning Association (APA) for 1.5 Certification Maintenance (CM) Credits. CM credits provide continuing education opportunities for AICP Certified Planners to continue their professional skills and knowledge. To receive CM credits, Certified Planners should visit the TRB event webpage on American Planning Association and register their participation.
Please make sure that you register for this session and log in using the link that TRB provides to your email account. We use this as your record that you attended this session. TRB only maintains the records of attendees who use their email address to log into the webinar and cannot verify attendance of individuals who view the webinar without personally logging into the session.  
If you have problems reporting your CM credits or have general questions about the CM program, please contact AICPCM@planning.org.
 
Pre-registration is required. Once the webinar starts, you will be unable to register. Individuals that are registered for a webinar but do not receive their confirmation emails due to their organization’s internal firewalls should contact TRB Helpdesk for assistance in signing in.
View our FAQ page for more information.
Registration questions? Contact TRB webinar program.