California crossing facts for reporters

Facts you can quote

• The federal inventory lists 5,438 public railroad crossings in California.

  See it on the California crossings page

• California has the 5th most public crossings among states.

  See it on the crossing facts page

• 62% of public crossings in California have gates. Another 427 crossings have flashing lights without gates, and 1,328 crossings have signs only.

  See it on the California crossings page

• The crossing with the most trains in California is on W Palm Av in El Cajon. It reports 458 trains a day.

  See it on the crossing 662003X

• 1,228 public crossings in California report 20 or more trains a day.

  See it on the California crossings page

• Los Angeles has more public crossings than any other county in California, with 846.

  See it on the California crossings page

• 324 public crossings in California are inside a quiet zone, where trains are not required to sound the horn at the crossing.

  See it on the California quiet zones page

• 1,579 incidents were reported to the FRA at public crossings in California since 2016.

  See it on the California crossings page

Counts are reported records, not a rating of any crossing. Incidents are the reports railroads file with the FRA.

How to cite this data

Put this line under a chart or at the end of your story.

Source: Federal Railroad Administration crossing inventory, via Rail Crossing Atlas (California, data of 21 October 2026).

This link always opens the same version of the data, even after later updates: California data, version of 21 October 2026. The method page for that version explains each source: sources and dates.

https://railcrossingatlas.tansolutions.org/crossings/states/california?revision=fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da

Rail Crossing Atlas, Tan Solutions. (2026, October 21). Railroad crossings in California (Published revision fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da). https://railcrossingatlas.tansolutions.org/crossings/states/california?revision=fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da

Rail Crossing Atlas, Tan Solutions. “Railroad crossings in California.” October 21, 2026. Published revision fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da. https://railcrossingatlas.tansolutions.org/crossings/states/california?revision=fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da.

@misc{railcrossingatlas-CA-fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da,
  author = {{Rail Crossing Atlas, Tan Solutions}},
  publisher = {Rail Crossing Atlas, Tan Solutions},
  title = {Railroad crossings in California},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-21},
  version = {fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da},
  url = {https://railcrossingatlas.tansolutions.org/crossings/states/california?revision=fra-0ac076ef35774850d80c15da}
}

Add the California chart to your story

Paste this code into your page. It shows a dated card with the state's counts and a link back to the source.

<iframe src="https://railcrossingatlas.tansolutions.org/embed/state/california?theme=auto" title="Railroad crossings in California" width="400" height="520" style="width:100%;max-width:400px;border:0" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Questions about the data

Write to atlas@tansolutions.org with the page link and your question. We can explain a source, a date or a count.

Facts for other states