Press Statement:
Today marks one year since the tragic accident at Hegewisch Station, where Grace Bentkowski lost her life. Our hearts remain with her family, friends, and loved ones as they continue to navigate this difficult time.
Since the accident, the South Shore Line engaged a nationally recognized engineering firm that specializes in grade-crossing diagnostics to conduct a thorough evaluation of our pedestrian at-grade crossings to determine if any additional safety enhancements should be considered beyond those required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). This assessment examines key safety considerations, including train frequency and speed, pedestrian activity, visibility, and environmental conditions. We are fully committed to pursuing funding to implement safety enhancements identified as feasible by the diagnostic effort, with input from the diagnostic participants at the Illinois Commerce Commission and Federal Railroad Administration. The diagnostic study for Hegewisch has taken longer than initially anticipated, as we are further studying the engineering feasibility of safely installing pedestrian gates at the crossings. The South Shore Line, like most other railroads in the United States, adheres to the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA) standards. Our contracted engineering firm is continuing to work on verifying the feasibility of the design for adding pedestrian gates as a safety enhancement at Hegewisch, if that can be done in compliance with AREMA standards. We expect that review to be completed shortly.
Following last summer’s accident, we took action to implement enhanced operational safety measures at the Hegewisch Station. Among these were the installation of additional signage at pedestrian crossings, designed to highlight the life-saving message from Operation Lifesaver: “See Tracks? Think Train®.” We also adjusted the train loading location for all west-bound trains.
At the South Shore Line, safety remains our top priority. Over the past decade, we’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars into enhancements across our network that have enhanced safety, often going beyond the standards required by the FRA.
We continue to ask all passengers and pedestrians to stay alert near railroad crossings, look both ways before crossing railroad tracks, observe all posted signage, and always keep in mind that trains can come from either direction, at any time, and on any track.
Our commitment to safety and to the communities we serve remains steadfast. To learn more about rail safety, please visit www.oli.org and join us in supporting Operation Lifesaver’s important campaign: “See Tracks? Think Train®.”