Highway-rail grade crossing safety challenges for shared operations of high-speed passenger and heavy freight rail in the U.S.

This study presents an overview of the challenges of grade crossings to shared high-speed rail (HSR) passenger and heavy-axle-load (HAL) freight operations in the U.S., as well as an in-depth analysis of the relevant research to date, through an extensive literature review. Results from this study are expected to identify principal technical challenges related to grade crossings in developing HSR systems. This will facilitate the planning, development, construction, and operation of new HSR shared corridors in the U.S. The challenges and research needs described in this paper may also be relevant to development of shared passenger and freight operations outside the U.S.