Background on Railroad Trespassing
Trespassing on a railroad’s private property and along railroad rights of way is the leading cause of rail-related fatalities in America. Nationally, approximately 500 trespassing deaths occur each year, the vast majority of which are preventable. Since 1997, more people have been killed while trespassing than as a result of motor vehicle collisions with trains at highway-rail grade crossings.
By definition, trespassers are on railroad property illegally without permission. They are most often pedestrians who walk across or along railroad tracks as a shortcut from one place to another, or they are engaged in loitering, hunting, dog walking, bicycling, or riding on all terrain vehicles, snowmobiles or even horseback.
Overall, the railroad operating environment is an inherently hazardous one for which railroad employees receive extensive safety awareness training. Trespassers do not have the benefit of this knowledge nor are they are aware of current and pending train movements, and by failing to properly use designated crossing locations such as highway-rail grade crossings and dedicated pedestrian access paths, are susceptible to life-threatening injuries or death.
In most states, trespassing is codified as a property crime and a general offense. A number of the states specifically forbid trespassing on railroad property.
Role of

ALABAMA
Alabama has no trespass regulations or laws specifically targeted to railroad property. However, a
person is guilty of criminal trespass in the second degree if he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a
building or upon real property which is fenced or enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders. Ala.
Code § 13A-7-3 (1999).