49 U.S.C. § 20152 — Notification of grade crossing problems

(a) In General. Within 18 months after the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 became law, the Secretary of Transportation had to require every railroad carrier to: (1) set up and maintain a toll-free phone line, for each right-of-way where it runs trains, to directly take calls reporting malfunctioning signals, crossing gates, or other safety devices at a grade crossing; a disabled vehicle blocking the tracks at a crossing; something blocking a pedestrian's or driver's view of an approaching train from either direction; or other safety information about that crossing; (2) after getting a report about a malfunction or disabled vehicle, immediately warn trains operating near that crossing; (3) after warning the trains, contact the right public safety officials if needed, so they can direct traffic, help remove a disabled vehicle, or otherwise respond; (4) after getting a report about a blocked view or other safety issue, promptly look into it, remove the obstruction if possible, or otherwise fix the unsafe situation; and (5) post a sign at every grade crossing on rights-of-way it owns, showing at least the toll-free number for reporting problems on that right-of-way, an explanation of what the number is for, and the crossing's ID number from the Department of Transportation's National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory. (b) Waiver. The Secretary may waive the toll-free requirement for smaller railroads — Class II and Class III carriers — if the Secretary decides that a toll-free line would cost too much or is not needed.