FRA Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Incidents Scraper

Extract highway-rail grade crossing incident reports from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) open data portal. This Actor provides access to over 250,000 grade crossing incident records dating back to 1975, sourced directly from the U.S. Department of Transportation's official Socrata API.

Use this scraper to analyze grade crossing safety trends, research specific incidents by location or railroad, identify high-risk crossings by casualties or damage, and build datasets for transportation safety research, railroad liability analysis, risk assessment, and investigative journalism.

Key Features

• 250,000+ incident records from 1975 to present
• Filter by state — target specific states (Texas, California, Ohio, etc.)
• Filter by railroad — search by railroad company name (Union Pacific, CSX, BNSF, etc.)
• Filter by year range — specify start and end years for targeted analysis
• Filter by highway user type — auto, truck, bus, pedestrian, motorcycle, or other
• Detailed casualty data — total killed and injured
• Equipment tracking — equipment involved, equipment type, equipment struck
• Location data — state, county, city, highway name
• Environmental context — temperature, visibility, weather conditions
• Train details — train speed during incident
• Vehicle information — estimated vehicle speed and direction
• Damage assessment — vehicle damage classification
• Warning devices — crossing warning device status
• Hazmat tracking — hazmat involvement classification
• Incident narratives — detailed text descriptions when available

Field	Description
railroadName	Name of the railroad involved
date	Date of the grade crossing incident
stateName / countyName	State and county where the incident occurred
cityName	City or nearest city to the incident
highwayName	Name of the highway at the crossing
highwayUser	Type of highway user (Auto, Truck, Bus, Pedestrian, etc.)
vehicleSpeed	Estimated speed of vehicle (mph)
trainSpeed	Speed of the train (mph)
publicPrivate	Whether crossing is public or private
warningDevice	Type of warning device at crossing
equipmentInvolved	Type of vehicle/equipment involved
equipmentType	More detailed equipment type
totalKilled	Total fatalities
totalInjured	Total injuries
vehicleDamage	Severity of vehicle damage
hazmatInvolvement	Whether hazmat was involved
narrative	Detailed text description of the incident

How to Scrape FRA Grade Crossing Incident Data

1. Go to this Actor's page on the Apify Store
2. Click "Start" to open the input configuration form
3. Set your filters:
   • Enter a State name (e.g., Texas, California) or leave blank for all states
   • Enter a Railroad Name (e.g., Union Pacific) or leave blank for all railroads
   • Set Start Year and End Year to narrow the date range
   • Enter a Highway User Type (e.g., Auto, Truck) or leave blank for all types
   • Set Max Results to control how many records you want (default: 100)
4. Click "Start" to run the Actor
5. Download your data in JSON, CSV, Excel, or other formats from the Dataset tab

Example: Find All Texas Auto-vs-Train Incidents in 2022-2023 with Fatalities

{
    "state": "Texas",
    "highwayUser": "Auto",
    "startYear": 2022,
    "endYear": 2023,
    "maxResults": 500
}

Example: Find All Union Pacific Grade Crossing Incidents Nationwide Since 2020

{
    "railroad": "Union Pacific",
    "startYear": 2020,
    "maxResults": 1000
}

Example: Find All Truck-Involved Grade Crossing Incidents Nationwide

{
    "highwayUser": "Truck",
    "maxResults": 2000
}

Pricing

This Actor uses a pay-per-result pricing model:

Cost Type	Price
Per Actor start	$0.00005
Per result	$0.003

Example costs:

• 100 incident records: ~$0.30
• 1,000 incident records: ~$3.00
• 10,000 incident records: ~$30.00

You also pay standard Apify platform compute costs on top of Actor pricing.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
state	string	No	(all)	State name (e.g., Texas, California)
railroad	string	No	(all)	Railroad name filter (partial match, e.g., Union Pacific)
startYear	integer	No	(any)	Start year (1975-2030)
endYear	integer	No	(any)	End year (1975-2030)
highwayUser	string	No	(all)	Highway user type (e.g., Auto, Truck, Bus)
maxResults	integer	No	100	Maximum results to return (1-250,000)

Output Example

{
    "date": "2023-06-15T00:00:00.000",
    "time": "3:45 PM",
    "railroadCode": "UP",
    "railroadName": "Union Pacific Railroad Company",
    "incidentNumber": "0623GC001",
    "gradeCrossingId": "TX1234567",
    "stateName": "Texas",
    "countyName": "Harris",
    "cityName": "Houston",
    "highwayName": "State Highway 290",
    "publicPrivate": "Public",
    "highwayUser": "Auto",
    "vehicleSpeed": 35,
    "vehicleDirection": "East",
    "equipmentInvolved": "Automobile",
    "equipmentType": "2-door sedan",
    "equipmentStruck": "Yes",
    "hazmatInvolvement": "No",
    "temperature": 92.5,
    "visibility": "Good",
    "weatherCondition": "Clear",
    "trainSpeed": 45,
    "totalKilled": 0,
    "totalInjured": 2,
    "vehicleDamage": "Major",
    "warningDevice": "Crossing gate and bells",
    "narrative": "Vehicle failed to stop at crossing gate and collided with freight train. Driver and passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries."
}

FAQ

Is it legal to scrape FRA grade crossing data?

Yes. This Actor accesses publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's open data portal. The data is public government data made freely available under open data initiatives. No authentication is required.

How Much Does It Cost to Scrape FRA Grade Crossing Data?

See the pricing table above. At $0.003 per result, fetching 1,000 incident records costs approximately $3.00 in Actor fees plus minimal Apify compute costs.

Can I export grade crossing data to Excel or CSV?

Yes. Apify supports exporting results in JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, and other formats directly from the Dataset tab after a run completes.

How often is the FRA data updated?

The FRA updates the Socrata dataset regularly. Most recent data is typically available within a few months of the incident date. You can schedule this Actor to run at any interval.

What date range does the data cover?

The FRA database contains over 250,000 grade crossing incident records dating back to 1975, with data extending to the present.

What are the different highway user types?

Common highway user types in the dataset include: Auto (passenger car), Truck, Bus, Pedestrian, Motorcycle, Farm Equipment, Other Motor Vehicle, and more.

Can I filter by multiple states at once?

Currently, the input accepts a single state name. To extract data for multiple states, run the Actor multiple times with different state filters, or request a larger maxResults value and filter the results afterward.

Data Quality

This dataset is maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration and represents officially reported grade crossing incidents. Data quality and completeness may vary depending on reporting requirements and railroad company practices. Some fields may be null for older incidents or those with incomplete reporting.

Other Scrapers by SeatSignal

• FRA Railroad Accidents & Incidents Scraper — Extract railroad accident reports (181,000+ records)
• NHTSA Vehicle Safety Scraper — Extract vehicle recalls, complaints, and safety investigations
• OSHA Inspections Scraper — Extract OSHA workplace safety inspection data
• MSHA Mine Safety Scraper — Extract mine safety and health inspection data
• FEMA Disasters Scraper — Extract federal disaster declaration data
• NREL Alternative Fuel Stations Scraper — Extract EV charging and alternative fuel station data

Legal Disclaimer

This Actor extracts publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's open data portal (data.transportation.gov). This is public government data made freely available under open data initiatives. The data is provided "as is" without warranty. Users are responsible for ensuring their use of the data complies with applicable laws and regulations. This Actor does not access any restricted, private, or authenticated data sources.

For questions or support, contact the Actor author through the Apify Store.