A rapidly deployable and cost-effective railroad crossing early warning system integrated with the railway system is attractive due to its protection of the unmanned grade crossings, which requires a warning system with long-distance communication link. In this paper, we investigate the problem of suitable antenna selection for such a railway warning system First, the antenna criteria for railroad crossing safety applications are described based on practical system considerations, the safe distances on the road and on the railway. Then, the optimal antenna pattern is derived theoretically to get the smallest size which fits for the practical installation. We also conducted a feasibility study of an array antenna through measurements on a near field scanner.