A $200,000 grant from the Federal Rail Administration will pay for a high-tech railroad trespassing deterrence system between Freeport and Brunswick.

Ted Talbot, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, which received the grant, the technology includes remote sensors and wireless video cameras, and will allow local law enforcement officials to warn trespassers in real time of an incoming train. The stretch of track is used by the Amtrak Downeaster for passenger rail service

“We haven’t pinpointed the exact high risk areas yet,” said Talbot. “Illegal trespassing is the No. 1 cause of rail fatalities in the country. It’s been a problem recently. People don’t realize that it’s technically illegal to walk on the tracks. It comes down to a safety issue.”

The program will run for three years and the start date hasn’t been determined yet, said Talbot.

The project will be funded by an interagency agreement between the Federal Railroad Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

In June, the Freeport Town Council voted to enact railroad quiet zones for the town’s eight railroad crossings.

Under Federal Railroad Administration regulations, all trains are required to sound their whistles when approaching railroad crossings. But those regulations also allow for the establishment of quiet zones, where the trains would be prohibited from sounding their horns, provided the crossing had the proper safety measures installed to prevent collisions between cars and trains.

According to the federal transportation department, 10 people have been killed in Maine while illegally trespassing on railroad tracks since 2003.

“Illegal trespassing is the No. 1 cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States,” Gov. Paul LePage said in a news release. “We welcome this opportunity to use the latest in technology as a means to reduce or prevent injuries and fatalities and to increase safety for Mainers.”

The Amtrak Downeaster added service to Freeport and Brunswick service Nov. 2, 2012, culminating a two-year project that required the rehabilitation of about 27 miles of track between Portland and Brunswick.