BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) recently announced the recipients of the 2025 Tracking to Zero award.
BNSF launched the award last year to honor five state departments of transportation (DOTs) that are committed to improving grade crossing safety.
This year’s awards recognizes Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Illinois for averaging less than one grade crossing incident per 1 million BNSF train miles traveled, according to 2024 Federal Railroad Administration data.
“The momentum behind our Tracking to Zero initiative is a testament to the power of partnership,” Rich Scott, BNSF assistant director of public projects, said. “We’re not only celebrating the accomplishments of these five states — we’re also strengthening our commitment to help more partners join them next year.”
Examples of actions taken by the winning state DOTs to improve railroad crossing safety include eliminating at-grade crossings/installing grade-crossing separations, enhancing signal systems and signage at existing crossings, implementing various measures to reduce railroad trespassing, prioritizing community education and utilizing land use planning and awareness campaigns, researching and piloting new crossing safety technologies, and utilizing both state and federal funding to maximize railroad crossing safety improvements.
Since 1995, BNSF’s rate of grade crossing collisions dropped by more than 62 percent per million miles traveled.