Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 2: Research Overview (2022)

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157   This chapter describes the work accomplished on TCRP Project A-44 and the contents of the guidebook that was developed to provide information on the strategies to deter trespassing on rail transit and commuter rail exclusive and semi-exclusive rights-of-way, including within sta- tion areas outside designated pedestrian crossings. The guidebook is available on the National Academies Press website (www.nap.edu) by searching for TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way. The following sec- tion describes the contents of the guidebook, followed by a section that summarizes the findings from the activities undertaken during TCRP Project A-44. Contents of the Guidebook TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 1: Guidebook, is organized into the following chapters: • Chapter 1: Introduction provides an overview and the scope of the document. • Chapter 2: Trespassing on the U.S. Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Systems presents the characteristics of trespassing activities experienced by the U.S. rail transit and commuter rail systems. • Chapter  3: Decision-Making Guidance offers decision-making procedures from federal agencies, industry organizations, and other trespass prevention collaborations. • Chapter 4: Causes, Consequences, and Risks of Trespassing identifies root causes of tres- passing, locations of trespassing, and consequences of trespassing. The chapter also provides methods to identify risks associated with trespassing by evaluating rail rights-of-way, collabo- rating with stakeholders, monitoring for trespassing, and identifying hotspots. • Chapter 5: Applying Countermeasures to Reduce Trespassing Risks provides information on the selection of strategies and lists countermeasures to mitigate trespassing. • Chapter 6: Making the Case for Implementation categorizes the countermeasures in terms of ease of implementation and describes the matrix and spreadsheet tools that agencies can use to narrow the menu of countermeasure options for a given trespassing concern. Summary of Research Findings The following discussion summarizes the findings from the activities undertaken during the TCRP Project A-44 research. Rail Transit and Commuter Rail System Characteristics This research considered exclusive and semi-exclusive rights-of-way on light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail system property that represent 50 unique rail transit and commuter rail C H A P T E R 7 Recapitulation

158 Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way agencies in the United States. These agencies operate 22 light rail, 14 heavy rail, and 29 com- muter rail systems, with a combined total of over 10,000 guideway track-miles. In 2020, the guideway track-miles at grade with access restrictions that include exclusive and semi-exclusive alignments accounted for 77% of the right-of-way configurations. Trespassing Characteristics Over the 5 years between 2015 and 2019, there were 77 pedestrian fatalities and 188 pedes- trian injuries on light and heavy rail systems. Light rail experienced 81% of those fatalities and 86% of the injuries. The NTD indicates that there were 343 fatalities and 442 injuries on light and heavy rail systems for reported suicide attempts during the same 5-year period. The FRA data showed 423 fatalities and 289 injuries on commuter rail lines over that period, which indi- cated an upward trend in trespassing fatalities. While injuries associated with suicide incidents remained level for the same period, the suicide fatality rate decreased on the general rail network. Online Survey of Practitioners The online survey of domestic and non-North American rail transit and commuter rail agencies was performed to catalog practices to mitigate trespassing incidents and understand trespassing issues and concerns. The survey responses were collected from rail transit and com- muter rail agencies and included universities or research organizations, rail safety consultants, and the labor community. After the removal of duplicate entries and the cleaning process, the survey analysis included 48 responses, with two-thirds of the respondent agencies being U.S. rail transit and commuter rail agencies. The survey results indicated that train crews and passengers were perceived to be the most impacted by trespassing incidents. There could be various reasons for the causes of trespass- ing, including intentional trespass, homeless encampments, and people under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Many of the mitigation strategies listed in the survey were identified as effective, includ- ing fencing, anti-trespass guard panels, landscaping, and video analytics. PSDs were found most effective by the agencies that used the measure on their system. However, PSDs could only be applied to the heavy rail system and were considered not cost-effective and difficult to implement. Fencing is the most dominantly used mitigation strategy among the U.S. rail transit and com- muter rail agencies. Also, when participants were asked to select one mitigation strategy, fencing was the top selected strategy. Lighting was perceived as mostly effective by the agencies that use it in most locations, especially in the heavy rail system. The general trend for enforcement and education was that the perception of effectiveness increased with increased use. The suggested strategies from the respondents included signage, new technology such as drones or big data; enforcement such as more citations or increased fines; exclusive rights-of- way; and suicide prevention programs. The respondents pointed out that the keys to helping with the trespassing issue would be sharing data between stakeholders, defining what a tres- passer is, and providing additional funding sources to investigate problems and implement strategies. Trespassing Countermeasure Strategies This study categorizes strategies to deter trespassing on rail transit and commuter rail rights- of-way into three categories: engineering and physical measures, education and engagement,

Recapitulation 159   and enforcement. Based on the case studies and the internal discussions with the panel mem- bers, the research team updated the list of countermeasures throughout the project. The final list of countermeasure subcategories discussed in the research overview and the guidebook are as follows: • Engineering and Physical Measures – Fencing, channelization, and barriers – Landscaping – Anti-trespass guard panels – PSDs – Surveillance and detection – Lighting – Approaching train alerts – Track retrieval device • Education and Engagement – Signage – Community-based collaboration – Public and industry events and campaigns – Employee intervention training – Hope Poles • Enforcement – Law enforcement and patrol Each trespassing subcategory feature is provided with the following: • Description—an overview of the strategy, including different types of strategies • Current Use—a sample of current practices of strategies in the U.S. and international rail transit and commuter rail agencies based on the findings from the literature review • Effectiveness—a summary of the level of effectiveness based on the survey results and the literature • Summary—potential benefits and challenges of the strategy as documented in the literature in combination with meaningful findings from the online survey Existing Guidelines Guidelines and standards for trespassing countermeasures were available from FRA, APTA, TCRP, FTA, and Operation Lifesaver. While many of the guidelines and standards apply across multiple trespassing mitigation strategies, APTA’s recommended practices provide detailed information that could be useful for implementing each strategy. The CARE model developed by FRA and Transport Canada aids in developing long-term trespass prevention strategies for communities. The framework follows four steps that identify problems and stakeholders, analyze the root cause, develop and implement trespass mitigation strategies, and evaluate the results. The RESTRAIL Toolbox provides practical information for each countermeasure collected during the project. In addition, the RESTRAIL Toolbox is a user-friendly problem-solving guide that users can navigate through, filtering options to obtain information on the targeted countermeasure. Case Studies Considering attributes of each rail transit and commuter rail system and panel recommenda- tions, the research team selected five U.S. agencies and two non-North American agencies for the primary case studies. To capture additional strategies and activities undertaken to address

160 Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way trespassing, especially agencies performing innovative or creative activities, secondary case studies were performed. All case studies were performed virtually due to COVID-19 travel restrictions at the time. The primary case studies were conducted with the following agencies: • U.S. Agencies – MTA, Baltimore, Maryland – Metropolitan Transportation Authority MNCR, New York, New York – UTA, Salt Lake City, Utah – DART, Dallas, Texas – LACMTA, Los Angeles, California • Non-North American Agencies – ProRail, the Netherlands – Transport for London’s London Underground, London, United Kingdom The countermeasure-related findings from case studies are incorporated within the guidebook. Project Key Findings Following is a list of key findings from this study: • New countermeasures were highlighted during case studies that were not viewed during the literature review, such as Hope Poles and track retrieval devices. Both Hope Poles and track retrieval devices are considered easy to implement at low operating and capital costs in very little time. Details for each countermeasure can be found in the guidebook. • Amtrak uses GIS to identify trespassing hotspots, analyze spatiotemporal data, and navigate factors to determine locations for suicide prevention signs. The identified strike trends and hotspot locations can be later combined with other geographic datasets, including homeless encampments, mental health facilities, and school locations, to examine socioeconomic and geographic factors concerning the hotspot locations. Such GIS-based trend analysis can also help quantify effectiveness after implementing a countermeasure. • Some transit agencies have a conservative perspective toward implementing new trespass- ing detection technologies, such as smart cameras and video analytics, mainly due to false positives. False positives unnecessarily pull critical resources and reduce confidence in the technology. Moreover, false positives could slow or stop train movements until the situation is cleared, which causes excessive delay and economic loss to the agency. • Several agencies mentioned the broken window theory during case studies. Problems like unfixed fences, uncleaned graffiti, and unaddressed behaviors require immediate attention to prevent similar activities in the future. • There is no single countermeasure that could completely remove trespassing incidents from the rail rights-of-way. However, the collaboration involved in using multiple counter- measures promptly at appropriate locations is reportedly helpful in mitigating trespassing issues. • Transport for London has extensive public outreach strategies to reduce and respond to suicides. One of the strategies is white message boards that provide positive messages. The whiteboard positive messaging signs can be seen at stations and are often posted on social media. Such signs can be more potent by using social media with broader exposure to the public.