By day's end, 14 citations and 30 warnings had been issued, said sheriff's Detective Scott Dover.
The majority of the tickets and warnings were for trespassing on railroad property and drivers going around the warning gates or stopping on the tracks, he said.
Merced County Sheriff's Department patrol, air and motorcycle units were joined by BNSF police officers to monitor a stretch of track between Atwater and Winton and cite violators, Dover said.
The sheriff's Cessna 206 high-wing aircraft scanning the tracks from the air reported violations to ground units, who stopped the offenders and issued court citations, Dover said.
All of the California Penal Code sections pertaining to trespassing or interference with the railways are misdemeanor violations and carry fines from one month to one year in the county jail and/or $50 to $1,000 in fines.
The all-day crackdown was part of the statewide "California Operation Lifesaver" designed to reduce the number of deaths associated with railways and railway crossings, Dover said.
"The Merced County Coroner's Office reported investigating 22 train-related deaths in the county over the past five years," Dover said.
"Of those deaths, 73 percent of the victims were pedestrians and 27 percent were people in automobiles.
"In 2005 alone, there have already been four pedestrian deaths investigated, the last occurring less than a week ago when a pedestrian was struck by a BNSF freight train near the Highway 59 crossing," Dover said.
Lena Kent, public information director for BNSF in Southern California, commended the sheriff's department for taking the issue of railway safety so seriously and working in cooperation with BNSF.
"Our goal," she said, "is to send a message that trespassing on railway right-of-ways or trying to beat a train at a crossing can have fatal consequences," she said.
Kent noted that:
• An average freight train with 100 cars weighs anywhere from 12 million to 20 million pounds, and takes more than a mile to stop when using emergency braking.
• About 25 percent of crashes occurring at railroad crossings are drivers running into the side of a train, an indication the driver is going too fast.
Reporter Mike De La Cruz can be reached at 385-2474 or mdelacruz@mercedsun-star.com.
