Every three hours in the U.S. there is an incident involving a train and a person or vehicle. These incidents happen too often and are preventable. First and foremost, we remind all riders and pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings by looking both ways when at a rail crossing. Rail safety is a team effort. We are doing our part to decrease rail-related accidents and save lives through education outreach and enforcement efforts.

To encourage safe behavior near tracks and to reduce incidents across our rail system, we ask everyone to join us and do their part to share safety tips. Each week Metrolink will promote rail safety messages at our stations and on social media:

• Always look both ways before crossing railroad tracks
• Look both ways before crossing, a train can come from either direction at any time
• Stop Track Tragedies, look both ways near railroad tracks
• If a train goes by, look both ways again before crossing tracks

SAFETY TIPS

Below are some safety tips everyone should keep in mind while near a train track:

• Red lights indicate a train is approaching from either direction. Never walk around or behind lowered gates at a crossing and do not cross the tracks until the lights have stopped flashing.
• Stay alert around railroad tracks. Don’t text or use headphones, and do avoid other distractions that would prevent you from hearing an approaching train.
• Lives are at stake. Vehicles at train crossings and pedestrians walking on tracks account for 95 percent of all rail-related deaths. Almost all of these deaths are preventable. Don’t become a statistic. Be aware of railroad tracks and crossing gates when walking or driving.
• More than 50 percent of people who die while walking on railroad tracks have alcohol or drugs in their system. Always make responsible decisions with your safety in mind.
• By the time a locomotive engineer sees a person or vehicle on the tracks it’s too late. It takes the average train traveling at 55 mph more than a mile to stop. Don’t try to beat a train. They are approaching faster than it seems.

STAY SAFE – SIX THINGS TO KNOW

Eyes Up. Look and Listen.
Look both ways and listen before crossing the tracks. Expect a train at any time and from either direction.

Eyes Up. Phone Down.
Avoid dangerous distractions such as texting, loud music or headphones that would prevent you from hearing an approaching train.

Stand Back. Look Around.
Always stay behind the line at train stations. Enter or exit a station platform at designated areas.

Keep Out. Stay Away.
Train tracks, bridges and yards are private property. Never walk, bike, skateboard or run on or along the tracks; it’s illegal and dangerous. Cross only at designated rail crossings.

Stop and Wait.
Don't ever try to "beat" a train. An approaching train is closer and moving faster than you think. Wait until the gates are up and lights have stopped flashing, they may be down for a train approaching in the other direction.

See Something? Say Something.
To report suspicious packages, activity, persons and/or security concerns, call or text Metrolink’s Security Operations Center at (866) 640-5190. If you witness or experience criminal or life-threatening situations, dial 911.

VIDEOS

As a passenger, and even as a motorist, there are specific things that you can do to help us achieve our commitment to making sure that everyone who interacts with our trains does so safely:

Since September 2015, all railroad lines nationwide were required to post Emergency Notification System (ENS) signs at every public and private railroad crossing. The requirement was established by the Federal Railroad Administration to make reporting problems and emergencies impacting railroads easier.　

The ENS signs are blue and white, provide an emergency phone number and a railroad crossing ID number so that drivers or pedestrians who notice problems on the tracks can help stop a train before an incident occurs. The signs are in close proximity to the crossings and will be visible to the first car stopped at a crossing when they look through their right passenger window. Every approach to a railroad crossing must have an ENS sign.

These signs can be used to report things such as suspicious activity on the tracks, stalled vehicles or a warning device malfunction.

If your vehicle ever stalls on tracks, immediately evacuate your car and call the number listed on the ENS sign at the crossing.

Stay alert near the tracks. Be rail safe.

Being rail safe means:

• Crossing only at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings. It’s safer, and crossing anywhere else is illegal.
• Staying alert around railroad tracks. Avoid texting, headphones, or other distractions. Today’s trains are very quiet and they don’t always sound their horns.
• Remembering that it takes about one mile—the length of 18 football fields—for a train to stop.
• Expecting a train at any time. Trains can move in either direction at any time, day or night.

See tracks? Think train!

Trains are part of Orange County Life

With 34 cities and a population of more than 3 million, Orange County is the third largest county in California. Every day, trains contribute to our mobility and economic growth. This rail safety information will help you coexist with them whether you are on foot or in a vehicle.

To keep Orange County rail safe, OCTA enhanced 52 railroad crossings with upgraded and updated equipment and signage while helping silence train horns for local communities. OCTA's OC Bridges program separates freight trains from vehicular traffic along the Orangethorpe Corridor in Anaheim, Fullerton, and Placentia.