National Railway Crossing Safety

TrackSAFE hosts a number of sessions throughout the year focussed on railway crossing safety. The content is relevant for rail stakeholders, government, researchers and members of the community.

Our most recent online session in December 2024 includes updates on a number of railway crossing safety projects;

  1. Western Australian Passive Level Crossing Control Review – Evan Lutey, Level Crossing Safety & Policy Coordinator for Main Roads Western Australia & Chair National ALCAM Committee.
    Evan will outline the findings and recommendations from the review of all passively controlled level crossings on the public road network undertaken in Western Australia.  It will also demonstrate the current level crossing control arrangements now being adopted in Western Australia to increase the conspicuity of level crossings.
  2. A new technology for an ‘old’ problem: C-ITS and level crossing assistance – Erik van Vulpen, Centre for Technology Infusion La Trobe University.
    This project is a feasibility study, examining the how real-time train information could inform pedestrians or road users when a train will be passing, and indicate when and how long the boom gates will be closed.
  3. Improving near hit data through GPS – Craig Dance, Director Safety Improvement, V/Line.
    Craig will describe a new project at V/Line that collects near hit data.
  4. Understanding human factors issues at level crossings through behavioural assessments – Associate Professor Gemma Read, University of Sunshine Coast.
    This presentation will share findings from the level crossings behavioural assessments project, funded by the Victorian Railway Crossing Safety Steering Committee. To date, the project has collected data regarding road user and pedestrian behaviour at over 15 level crossing sites. Comparison of the data across sites allows an understanding of commonalities and differences in behaviour and helps to inform safety interventions.

Recording is available here.

Marking Rail Safety Week 2024, TrackSAFE hosted an online session sharing progress of a number of railway crossing safety projects, including;

  1. A new interactive tool to assess human factors risk at level crossings. This is a VRCSSC project – Julia Pitsopoulos, Director, HFRM
  2. Level crossing safety: secondary augmented warning system – Natalie Loughborough, Executive Director – Rail/Public Transport, NTRO & Paul Bennett, Senior Technology Leader, NTRO
  3. Using road based technologies to improve rail level crossing safety – John Wall, Senior Manager Road Safety Technology, Transport for NSW.

Recording is available here.

2022 | National Level Crossing Safety Forum

The 2022 Forum, held on 8-9 August in Sydney aimed to collect information of relevance to the key elements of the new National Level Crossing Safety Strategy for consideration by the National Level Crossing Safety Committee.  The content and discussions will be of interest to regulators, government policy makers, state level crossing committee members, academics, safety technology developers and providers and rail industry representatives.

The TrackSAFE Foundation thanks Transport for NSW, the Office of the Rail Safety Regulator, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and Rail Safety Systems for supporting the 2022 Forum. A copy of the 2022 Program is available here, with presentations and event sponsors below.

Presentations available

Neil Scales OBE, Chair, National Level Crossing Safety Committee OBE
Sue McCarrey, Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator
Angus Mitchell, Australian Transport Safety Bureau
Sal Petroccitto, National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
Gemma Read, University of the Sunshine Coast
Madhavi Shankarling & Tayla Hallett, Transport for NSW
Dagmar Parsons & Peter Feder, Rail Safety Systems, Steve Dawkins, Acmena
Alia Karaman & Sarah Rosewell, Transport for NSW
Nick Hughes, Rio Tinto
Peter Frazer OAM, Safer Australian Roads And Highways

Madeline Bott, Level Crossing Safety Advocate
Gabby O’Neill, National Office of Road Safety
Bernard Carlon, Transport for NSW & Inspector Kelly Wixx, NSW Police
Lucia Brisolla, Department of Transport, Victoria
Summary of working group outcomes