Narrative:

After landing on runway 23R at rdu; we turned off the runway on taxiway B4. While rolling onto the taxiway from the runway; ground control issued us a clearance that stated 'bravo to the ramp.' as we slowly continued toward the bravo taxiway on B4 with the tail still beyond the hold short lines for 23R; we noticed an unlit 737 under tow coming nose to nose with us. Ramp control was contacted by the first officer and the ramp controller stated that the aircraft under tow would be turning left onto taxiway bravo; and to continue to the gate. We noticed the 737 under tow not stopping and coming closer and closer to our aircraft. In an effort to avoid the 737's right wing and also ensure our tail cleared the runway; I maneuvered the aircraft immediately to the left toward the taxiway edge. The 737's wing appeared to clear our aircraft by a margin of roughly 10 feet. Ramp control gave us a phone number to call once we parked and stated on the phone that the [737] under tow was supposed to exit the ramp at T5 and not T4 like they did and was handed off to ground control. She saw that it looked close and provided the phone number for rdu tower to call. I spoke to the supervisor in the tower/TRACON and stated that we came very close to this 737 under tow; clearing by feet; and that ramp stated that the driver of the tow was under the control of ground control.the ramp and runway turnoffs are in very close proximity and create a risk to aircraft exiting 5L/23R. I suggest that rdu ramp and ground control have a dedicated ramp entry and dedicated ramp exit point to keep this from happening.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-900 Captain reported taking evasive action during taxi-in to the ramp to avoid another aircraft under tow on the taxiway.

Narrative: After landing on Runway 23R at RDU; we turned off the runway on taxiway B4. While rolling onto the taxiway from the runway; Ground Control issued us a clearance that stated 'Bravo to the ramp.' As we slowly continued toward the Bravo taxiway on B4 with the tail still beyond the hold short lines for 23R; we noticed an unlit 737 under tow coming nose to nose with us. Ramp Control was contacted by the First Officer and the ramp controller stated that the aircraft under tow would be turning left onto taxiway Bravo; and to continue to the gate. We noticed the 737 under tow not stopping and coming closer and closer to our aircraft. In an effort to avoid the 737's right wing and also ensure our tail cleared the runway; I maneuvered the aircraft immediately to the left toward the taxiway edge. The 737's wing appeared to clear our aircraft by a margin of roughly 10 feet. Ramp Control gave us a phone number to call once we parked and stated on the phone that the [737] under tow was supposed to exit the ramp at T5 and not T4 like they did and was handed off to Ground Control. She saw that it looked close and provided the phone number for RDU Tower to call. I spoke to the supervisor in the Tower/TRACON and stated that we came very close to this 737 under tow; clearing by feet; and that Ramp stated that the driver of the tow was under the control of Ground Control.The ramp and runway turnoffs are in very close proximity and create a risk to aircraft exiting 5L/23R. I suggest that RDU Ramp and Ground Control have a dedicated ramp entry and dedicated ramp exit point to keep this from happening.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.