4.4.9 Railroad Coordination

All work on or within 50-ft of the railroad ROW must be coordinated with the railroad owners. Work within 500-ft of railroad ROW should be evaluated by the District Railroad Coordinator to determine if there is any impact (temporary traffic control, preemption, etc.) to the railroad.
TxDOT enters into a
Construction and Maintenance (C&M) Agreements
 with railroad companies when planning construction projects which impact railroad right of way. C&M Agreements with railroad companies can take anywhere from
6 months to 2 years
 or more to complete. For this reason, it is essential to begin coordination with the railroad as early as possible in the project development process.
Routine maintenance projects or projects with minimal impact on railroad right of way use the Maintenance Notification Letter process (Letter Agreement) and do not require the types of agreements and plan sheets detailed in the remainder of the section.
Refer to TxDOT’s
Rail Highway Operations Manual
 for more information on timelines and flow charts for obtaining a C&M Agreement on construction projects and information on the Letter Agreement process for maintenance projects.
Early coordination with railroad companies is essential to reduce project delivery delays. Depending on the impact to the railroad, the negotiations, plans, and final agreement can take
4 months to 48 years
 to complete. Federal Aid Highway Program projects are subject to a compliance audit for railroad agreements completed prior to the project construction authorization date.
TxDOT may not perform work within railroad ROW without the proper agreements and certifications.
Add this task to the project schedule.
Approval for new, at-grade railroad crossings is difficult to obtain. Existing at-grade crossings in the project area may need to be closed or grade separated so no net increase in at-grade crossings results. TxDOT usually bears the burden of finding these “trade off” crossings and negotiating with third parties if crossings are located off the State highway system.
Refer to TxDOT’s
Rail Highway Operations Manual
 for detailed discussion of preliminary engineering tasks associated with work near a railroad. Considerations for projects with railroads include:
  • Locate all potential railroad ROW within 500-ft of the project limits;
  • Determine existing crossing conditions and traffic control. Investigate the need for railroad-traffic signal interconnection between various signals;
  • Identify opportunities to close or consolidate at-grade crossings;
  • Obtain train traffic from railroad owners. Inquire into major railroad line improvement plans;
  • Obtain approval of clearances for grade separated structures - railroad preference is an overpass that will clear span their ROW at a right angle;
  • Develop recommendations for proposed rail-highway crossings;
  • A separate design and agreement may be needed for TxDOT utilities such as storm water, ITS, power, etc.; and
  • Document all correspondence regarding the design of the railroad features.
Initial railroad coordination must be conducted before selecting a recommended alignment because railroad issues may affect final alternative selection.