With International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) today, TrackSAFE Foundation and the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) are urging Australians to always watch out for trains and follow the road rules around level crossings.
Heather Neil, Executive Director of the TrackSAFE Foundation said trains can appear at a railway crossing unexpectedly and cannot swerve or stop quickly to avoid a car, truck, person or bicycle.
“Any death or injury on the rail network is devastating – not just for the family and friends impacted but also for rail workers involved in the incident and the first responders called upon in the rescue effort,” Ms Neil said.
“Fatalities, incidents and near hits on the network can cause severe and lasting trauma to the rail employees involved, and most of these incidents can be avoided,” said Ms Neil.
Between 2016-2024 there have been 28 fatalities and 156 injuries because of collisions with a road vehicle at a railway crossing and 16 fatalities and 19 injuries because of collisions with a person at a railway crossing. In addition, there were 8,313 near hits at railway crossings, 4,466 with a road vehicle and 3,847 with people, an average of 923 per year.
In addition to the data, there are likely to have been many more near hits that did not meeting the regulatory reporting threshold.
Caroline Wilkie, Chief Executive Officer of the ARA said everyone must play an active role in keeping themselves and others safe around the network.
“Infrastructure upgrades and the use of new technologies help improve the safety of the network. But we also need truck and car drivers, cyclists, motorbike riders and pedestrians to be aware of tracks and follow all signposted rules, including railway crossings,” Ms Wilkie said.
There are more than 20,000 railway (level) crossings in Australia, places where a road and/or a footpath cross a railway line. About half of these are on public roads and other half on private land.
TrackSAFE advocates for the removal of railway crossings; improved design; enforcement of rules at crossings; public awareness campaigns to improve driver and pedestrian behaviour and funding for new research and trials of emerging technologies which may help to reduce fatalities, injuries and near hits.