Facts

Train Stopping Distances

Trains cannot stop quickly— NEVER attempt to outrun them. The below stopping distances compare cars, trucks and different types of trains and illustrate how much longer trains take to stop.

• Car (travelling at 60km/hr) — 58m to stop
• Heavy Vehicle— 97m to stop
• Road Train— 160m to stop
• Suburban Passenger Train— 200m to stop
• Freight Train— 800m to stop

Railway Level Crossings

• There are over 23,500 railway level crossings in Australia and over 3,000 in New Zealand. Across Australasia, 78% of these crossings are passive and 22% are active.
• Passive level crossings are generally characterised by signage only. This may be a ‘stop’ or ‘give-way’ sign.
• Active level crossings have active traffic control devices such as boom gates and flashing lights.
• Active level crossings are a safer alternative to passive, with upgrades being made where feasible.
• In Australia, 21% of railway level crossings are active, with 79% being passive. In New Zealand, 23% of level crossings are active and 77% are passive.

Near Collisions

A near-collision is an almost collision between a train and a pedestrian, motorist or cyclist. A near-collision is reported when a train driver applies the emergency brakes to avoid colliding with a car, truck, cyclist or pedestrian.

Near-misses occur when road users or pedestrians attempt to beat a train at a level crossing or elsewhere. Even with emergency brakes, trains cannot stop quickly to avoid objects in its path.

2010 reported near-collisions at railway level crossings with vehicles or pedestrians

In 2010 more than 1,000 near-collisions with vehicles or pedestrians were recorded across Australia and New Zealand. These near-misses were reported by train drivers and took place at railway level crossings. Each near miss is a potential catastrophe.

This alarming number illustrates that every day pedestrians, cyclists and motorists that have been just seconds away from tragedy.

Near-collisions, or in the worst case, actual collisions, affect all involved. This includes train drivers and rail staff, those who witness the near-miss/ incident, and of course the individual and their family and friends and the wider community.

Never attempt to race trains at level crossings or take shortcuts along railway tracks—trains CANNOT stop quickly or swerve to avoid you!

Research into Behaviour at Railway Level Crossings

In 2007 the ARA commissioned a study of more than 4,400 road users across Australia and captured some alarming self-reported beliefs and behaviours about railway level crossings. For instance:

• 1 in 5 reported illegal usage of railway level crossings at least once (including crossing as trains approached, driving around and getting trapped between boom gates, accelerating to drive under lowering boom gates, avoiding queues by crossing tracks at different locations);
• 1 in 4 had engaged in ‘risky behaviour’ at railway level crossings yet not all considered crossing as trains approached ‘risky’;
• 1 in 5 were unaware of penalties for breaking railway level crossings road rules; and  
• 1 in 3 believed they were less likely to be penalised for breaking railway level crossing road rules than driving at speeds exceeding the speed limit.

More recently, in 2011, TasRail conducted a similar study based on 600 respondents, in which it was reported that:

• 14% of respondent could recall driving through a stop sign at a railway level crossing without stopping;
• 18% of those who had used a railway level crossing in the past 12 months said that they only ‘stop and obey the signs sometimes’, or ‘slow down at the signs and signals, but if I think I can beat the train, I drive through’.
  • Of these, a further 10% of respondents said they had driven through a railway crossing when the warning signals were flashing.

These shocking facts demonstrate just how important it is to improve education and awareness about railway level crossing safety in the community.

Cost of Railway Level Crossing Upgrades

The simple answer would be to upgrade all passive crossings or at least the ones that incur the highest rate of traffic to active crossings, but it is not as easy as this. Upgrading level crossings is extremely expensive.

• The installation of active traffic control devices such as boom gates and flashing lights at one railway level crossing ranges from $250,000 to one million dollars.  With over 18,000 passive crossings in Australia, this is obviously not an affordable solution
• Grade separation (building a bridge or tunnel so that the road and railway line do not intersect) is a multi-million dollar operation and where dual carriageways are involved, prices can soar to up past $100 million dollars for one site.

The Australasian Rail Industry continues to work towards ‘No New Level Crossings’.

Where possible, grade separation is the safest option. At passive level crossings, upgrading the crossings to active controls is a priority.