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Rep. Marcus S. Vaughn files bill to allow school-zone speed limits for locomotives
Summary
A bill filed Jan. 3, 2025, would permit Massachusetts cities and towns to designate school zones for locomotives, set a maximum speed of 20 mph in those zones, and require local notification to rail carriers and signage conforming to state traffic-control standards; cities and towns would pay sign costs.
A bill filed Jan. 3, 2025, by Representative Marcus S. Vaughn would let Massachusetts cities and towns establish designated school zones for locomotives and set a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour for passenger and freight engines traveling through those zones. The petition was received as House Bill No. 3798 and referred to the House Transportation Committee.
If enacted, the measure would insert a new Section 19A into Chapter 160 of the Massachusetts General Laws giving a city council, town meeting or other local legislative body the authority to create school zones on rail lines within its borders. A designation and its speed limit would not take effect until the municipality: notifies any railroad corporation with track through the zone and erects signs indicating the zone and speed limit. The bill requires signage to conform with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s standard manual on uniform traffic control devices and the department’s sample municipal traffic code.
The bill says the state transportation department and the affected railroad corporations would jointly determine the precise points where signage is placed. It also names the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as one entity that would be subject to the posted speed limit, stating that no railroad corporation, including the MBTA, may permit a passenger or freight locomotive to operate at a speed greater than the posted limit while traveling through a designated school zone.
Under the proposal, cities and towns would be responsible for the cost of erecting and maintaining the required signs; the bill does not specify estimated or capped costs or identify a funding source. The designation authority is limited to setting speed limits and erecting signs; the bill requires local action (a vote of the municipal legislative body) and cooperation with railroad companies and the state transportation department before any restriction takes effect.
The petition notes a similar matter, House No. 3462, was filed in the 2023–2024 session. As a filed bill, HB 3798 would need committee hearings and legislative approval before becoming law.
Key details from the bill include the 20 mph maximum, the requirement that municipalities notify railroad corporations and erect conforming signs before a zone is effective, the joint role of the state transportation department and affected railroads in designating signage points, and the assignment of sign costs to local governments. The bill does not prescribe penalties, enforcement mechanisms, or a state reimbursement program for signage costs.
