Illinois Railroad Workers Urge Public to Make Safe Choices Around Tracks and Trains

SMART-TD Illinois highlights simple, life-saving lessons and new school safety law during See Tracks? Think Train! Week

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois railroad workers are asking motorists, pedestrians and families to remember a few basic rules that can save lives as the state observes See Tracks? Think Train!® Week Sept. 21-27 — while highlighting a new Illinois law designed to make sure those lessons begin at a young age.

SMART-TD Illinois State Director Bob Guy said railroad employees see firsthand why vigilance around tracks and crossings matters.

“A train can’t swerve around you, and it can’t stop like your car,” Guy said. “By the time a locomotive engineer sees someone in the train’s path, there may be nothing that crew can physically do to prevent a collision. That’s why the safe decision has to happen before you enter the tracks.”

Illinois recorded 134 highway-rail crossing collisions in 2025, resulting in 34 deaths and 27 serious injuries. The state has approximately 7,300 miles of track, 7,482 public highway-rail crossings and 3,280 private crossings, placing railroad infrastructure in communities throughout Illinois.

An average freight train traveling 55 mph may require more than a mile — roughly 18 football fields — to stop.

SMART-TD is urging Illinois residents to:

  • Cross tracks only at designated crossings.
  • Never drive, walk or bicycle around lowered gates.
  • Always look for a second train after the first passes.
  • Stay off railroad tracks and railroad property.
  • Avoid phones, headphones and other distractions around tracks.
  • Never use railroad tracks for photographs, videos or recreation.
  • Never assume an approaching train can stop in time.

Those same lessons are receiving new emphasis in Illinois schools through Public Act 104-0590, which brings basic rail-safety messaging into K-12 student handbooks. The new law gives schools another tool to teach children about designated crossings, warning signs and signals, staying off tracks, lowered gates, the danger of a second train and the fact that trains cannot stop quickly.

The legislation has a particularly strong connection to SMART-TD. State Rep. Matt Hanson, a SMART-TD member and longtime railroad worker, helped lead the legislative effort, bringing his firsthand understanding of railroad operations and safety to the Illinois General Assembly.

The measure received overwhelming bipartisan support, passing the Illinois House 112-0 and Senate 56-1 before being signed into law.

Guy said Hanson’s work demonstrates how the experience of railroad workers can be used not only to respond to safety concerns but to prevent dangerous behavior before it begins.

“Matt understands what our members see and experience every day on the railroad,” Guy said. “He knows that the consequences of one bad decision around the tracks can be devastating. This law gives us an opportunity to reach young people early and help them understand why these rules matter before they ever get behind the wheel.”

That early education is particularly important because children encounter railroad tracks long before they become drivers. They may cross tracks while walking or bicycling, ride across them on school buses or encounter railroad property in their communities.

“Children are never too young to learn that tracks aren’t playgrounds, shortcuts or places to take pictures,” Guy said. “If we teach them to respect trains and crossings when they’re young, we can help build habits they carry with them when they eventually become drivers. Parents can reinforce those lessons by talking about rail safety and, just as importantly, setting the right example themselves.”

SMART-TD is also reminding motorists what to do if a vehicle becomes stuck on the tracks: get everyone out immediately, move away from the tracks and get help. Once safely away, call the number on the blue-and-white Emergency Notification System sign at the crossing. If no sign is available, call 911.

Guy said Rail Safety Week provides an opportunity for railroad workers, schools, parents, legislators and community leaders to reinforce the same fundamental lessons.

“We want people to understand the danger before they ever find themselves in a situation where the train crew has no good options left,” Guy said. “Rail Safety Week lasts seven days, but these decisions matter every day. Always expect a train. Stay off the tracks. Obey the warnings. A few seconds of patience — and a few lessons learned early in life — can save a life.”

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