The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is observing national rail safety with “See Tracks? Think Train® Week 2025” this week from September 15th through the 21st. Iowa is joining forces with Operation Lifesaver, Inc. to raise awareness and promote rail safety education, to assist drivers with making good decisions at Iowa public highway-railroad grade crossings, and to prevent rail property trespassing.
As harvest approaches, rail safety is a high priority with the majority of at-grade crossings in rural areas. The primary focus of this year’s educational campaign is on agricultural operations that harvest and transport commodities to market.
Iowa has 4,042 public at-grade railroad crossings and 2,446 private at-grade crossings. Within the public crossings, 2,203 are passive (crossbuck signs only), and 1,839 of those are active (1,203 with flashing lights, gates, and 636 with flashing lights only). More than half of the public crossings intersect with public roadways at passive crossings, where most collisions occur.
For more information on rail-ag safety, visit iowadot.gov.
