How Railroad Crossings Work

Trains cannot stop quickly enough to avoid hazards on their tracks—a fully laden freight train may need over a mile to stop—so railroads rely on safety infrastructure at grade crossings, including warning devices, right-of-way rules, and locomotive signals to protect motorists sharing the approximately 200,000 road-rail intersections in the US. These safety systems must detect approaching trains and give drivers enough time to clear the tracks or stop, compensating for the massive weight disparity between trains and vehicles.