LinqThingz’s TrainLinqTM improves safety for communities and empowers emergency response crews.
See our one-minute overview video: https://youtu.be/Z8BOIvW5wjc
A Report to the US Senate regarding current safety solutions
A report to the US Senate …”In fact, in 2017, 71 percent of fatal crashes at public grade crossings occurred at those with protective gates. States often report no difference in crashes after these safety improvements were added, and some states have even reported a slight increase in crashes.” …from page 6 “Railroad Crossing Congestion and Its Impacts on Safety and Efficiency”, prepared by the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Chaired by Maria Cantwell, 2021.
An Alarming Survey Response
This Senate report only considers accidents that happen in the Railroad Right Of Way. In general, there is no reporting for near misses or events in the traffic queue that results from an occupied crossings. Actual behavior at crossing is alarming. A survey in Wisconsin Rapids illustrates that 94% said “YES” to the question “When approaching an intersection blocked by a train, have you turned around, used neighborhood streets or tried to beat the train to an unblocked at-grade crossing to avoid being delayed?”
Video reflecting driving behavior at blocked crossings
Here is a video sent by a community member stuck in a mile-long traffic queue at an occupied crossing on Pilgrim Road in Brookfield, WI. The video reflects the behavior reported in the survey.
Rail Safety Statistics
*Every year there are about 2000 collisions between road and rail vehicles.
*Every year there are about 250 deaths from collisions between road and rail vehicles.
*Highway/Rail accidents are 40 times more deadly that accidents between highway vehicles.
*Accidents involving derailments and toxic chemicals can affect communities ≥20 Miles away from an incident.
Rail Congestion Statistics ($275B problem in US)
1.3 Billion vehicles cross rail tracks each day.
41 Million Tons of Carbon are added waiting at crossings.
$19 Billion is spent on excess fuel waiting at crossings.
$2 Billion is spent on excess emergency response expenses.
$92 Billion is lost on community productivity waiting at crossings.
$162 Billion is lost on logistics productivity waiting at crossings.
Shortcomings of Current Grade Crossing Solutions
*71% of grade crossing accidents occur because drivers simply go through the crossing, ignoring all current safety measures (see A Report to Senate below).
*Cross bucks, invented in 1867, when roads where dirt and traffic was horses, don’t work in today’s fast moving world of electric cars, connected vehicles and mobile phones.
*Current solutions don’t take into account the changes in human behavior and the use of navigation and mobile technologies.
*Current solutions do not take into consideration a 2050 roadmap of traffic that includes electric and autonomous vehicles.
Emergency Crews and Freight Rail
*Freight rails operate on a seemingly irregular schedule, and often block crossings at anytime of the day or night for over 20 minutes, with no warning.
*Crossings bisect many towns in the US and block these crossings an average of 8 minutes for an average of 20% of the day (4 hours!).
*Once at a crossing, it is nearly impossible for a fire truck or ambulance to turn around in traffic.
*Response times required for critical emergencies is 4 minutes…adding crossing delays can mean lost lives.
*In Milwaukee, the fire chief watched an apartment building burn to the ground while stuck at a crossing. https://linqthingz.com/Milwaukee/
LinqThingz Predictive Mobility
LinqThingz installs AI-based sensors on municipal property off rail road right of way and senses the location, speed, direction and length of a train. The information is processed using Machine Learning in the LinqThingz cloud to predict when and for how long crossings will be blocked in the future (prediction of up to 10 minutes).
This information, fed to mobile devices, dispatch and navigation systems, or to dynamic road-side signs can direct drivers away from blocked crossings.
Like a Digital Bridge or Tunnel… TrainLinqTM’s goal is to insure road traffic does not intersect with rail traffic.
Cost Effective Solution
*For the price of an electric bus – TrainLinqTM eliminates 46 times the carbon pollution.
*For the price of a typical bridge at one crossing – TrainLinqTM re-directs traffic at 5000 rail crossings.
