PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 12, 2020
Don't BLock Our Communities Act or the D-BLOC Act
This bill addresses concerns related to blocked crossings. (A blocked crossing is a circumstance in which a train, railroad car, or locomotive engine is stopped or is standing in a manner that obstructs public travel at a crossing).
Specifically, the bill
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
requires each railroad carrier to collect data on blocked crossings and directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to incorporate such data into the national highway-rail crossing inventory;
establishes a 10-minute limit on trains, locomotive, railroad cars, or other railroad equipment blocking crossings, with specified exceptions;
authorizes DOT to issue civil penalties for each incident where a crossing is blocked by a standing train, locomotive, or rail equipment;
requires DOT to issue regulations defining what is considered persistently or egregiously blocking a crossing, including taking into consideration the extent to which the blocked crossing poses a public safety hazard;
does not apply to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) or commuter authorities;
directs DOT to issue and publish a national strategy on how it plans to address blocked crossings; and
requires each railroad carrier to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone service for rights-of-way over which it dispatches trains to directly receive calls reporting blocked crossings.
People & committees
Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3] · D–IL
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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