why don't all railroad crossings have gates?

traffic, and sadly . . . . deaths, that is generally what it takes to get crossing protection installed, an accident.

To put it bluntly, the cost of Crossing systems is high, they are normally in the 50 to 100k range. The County or City where the crossing is has to pay for it, the railroad maintains it for them.

Crossings that have gates are usually occour on high road traffic roads, or the rail line sees a bunch of trains per day.

Crossbucks are the X sign, you will see these on busy tracks but the road doesnt see much traffic or vice versa

Private crossings are the crossings the trains dont have to blow their whistle for unless they need to. They usually just blocking driveways that the train tracks intercept.

and as Rango mentioned, most crossings have gates and lights installed when a train/vehicle collision occours. becuase the railroad and the public dont think the crossing is as safe as it was.

Good Question

It depends on the specific crossing and how busy it is.

A rural location with little traffic would not justify the expense of installing and maintaining a gate system, when simply a pair of crossbucks will do.

But, put that crossing in a suburban or urban setting, with a four-lane road crossing and two tracks, and you've a recipe for disaster; inevitably, at some point, there will be a car tangling with the train, and the car will lose. That's why, from a safety standpoint, there will be crossbucks, lights AND gates.

You get a star from me too

Vehicular volume is the main criteria.

Out here in the 'docks, we have a slow speed [15mph] line that in the 5-mile area there's 18 crossings; 16 have lights; 6 have barriers [1 even is a 4-way!]

The main line? Only has 14 crossings in 25 miles; two are crossucks only. The rest are lights and barriers. But, there are two areas that saves on all this.

The northern area: "Cut" the rail line below the streets [5 crossings saved]

The southern area: The dirt from the "cut" was used to make the line run over the streets [7 crossings saved]

Ultimately, and including the reasons above, it comes down to the bottom line. Keep in mind, there are always on-going expenses for required testing and maintenance, costs which last forever beyond the cost of initial installation.

This of course begs the question, "What is a human life worth?"

It all boils down to the same thing; the public is responsible for their own lives when it comes to grade crossings, whether they are equipped with protection or not. Contrary to popular conclusion, crossing protective devices, including lights, bells and gates, is NOT fail-safe. Yes, they have battery back up for power failure and in very remote areas, battery power from solar-electric generated recharging is their primary source, but there are other factors that can lead to the crossing protection being inoperative.

A rare occasion to be sure, but a long shot? It happened to me twice in my career. What are the odds of that? It only takes once.

Both were busy crossings. It is a miracle no one was killed.

Stop (not always an option), Look (a real look. A glance will get you killed) and Listen (music off, windows down before coming to the crossing), each and every time. That is the only way to be 100% sure it is safe to cross.

And, please, pass it on to the ones you care about most.

Good safety questions get a star. Here's yours...

volume of traffic at the crossing is the main reason. i dont know how much traffic volume will get crossing arms or lights, but they are all required by law to have at the very least crossbucks, the crossed sign that warns you of a railroad crossing

Local ordinances and traffic

no rail traffic. no real need.

expensive to place an activated gate.

so it is by case experience

Too cost prohibitive.

Not really a solution for anything anyway, as long as states will license stupid people who will drive around them. Best solution to stop accidents (would relieve congestion too) is quit allowing idiots to drive.

It depends upon activity of the road by cars and trains.

2 reasons.

1. it depends on how busy the intersection really is.

2. $$$$$