Members, witnesses point to Railroad Crossing Elimination grants as critical safety tool amid thousands of annual incidents

Members of the House Subcommittee on Rail and witnesses at the hearing emphasized that grade-crossing elimination remains a critical public-safety investment and urged Congress to keep the program separate and sufficiently funded.

"There are over 2000 incidences and 200 fatalities at these dangerous intersections every year," Ranking Member Dina Titus said, noting the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocation for the crossing-elimination program. Representatives and witnesses described how grade separations and other crossing improvements reduce risky driver and pedestrian behavior and unblock traffic when freight or passenger trains pass.

Matthew Dietrich of the Ohio Rail Development Commission described stage-managed approaches Ohio uses to combine state funds and federal awards to advance grade-separation projects and urged flexibility for states to develop projects to construction readiness. He told the committee the RCE program "has really been a game changer" for communities that had long sought separations.

Several members and witnesses said RCE should remain a dedicated program rather than be folded into broader grant pools, because grade separations typically perform poorly under strict benefit-cost frameworks used by other programs. Witnesses also recommended allowing a portion of program funds to be used for project development and planning so that smaller communities can submit construction-ready applications.

Committee members from both parties pressed for faster execution because delays can push construction past workable seasonal windows and increase costs. The committee took no vote; members asked staff to consider options in surface-transportation reauthorization text.