Railway Crossings Fact Sheet KEY FACTS ⢠Queensland has about ...
Railway Crossings Fact Sheet
KEY FACTS • Queensland has about 1,800 public level crossings, and all have warnings for motorists. By law pedestrians and drivers must obey all road traffic signs and signals. • The warnings are determined following regular and thorough risk assessment procedures by local committees comprising Queensland Rail, Queensland Transport, Main Roads Department and the respective local authority under a national assessment program. • Queensland Rail and road authorities manage public level crossings. About 30% have flashing lights and/or boom gates.
STATISTICS AND RESEARCH • Level crossing accidents on average represent less than 1% of total road fatalities in Australia each year (source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau). • Of the level crossing collisions on Queensland Rail tracks in the past seven years: 99% were directly attributable to the road user 96% occurred at public level crossings 50% occurred at crossings with boom gates and/or flashing lights 25% of collisions involved heavy vehicles. • On average in Queensland there are 17 collisions a year between road users and trains at rail level crossings. • An average of two people per year is killed in level crossing accidents. • The number of level crossing collisions in Queensland has dropped about 30% over the last decade.
• In 2008, there were five fatalities at level crossings in Queensland. • On 1 January 2009, a driver of a truck was killed in a level crossing accident near Innisfail. • More research can be found at: http://www.railcrc.net.au/publications/downloa ds/R2100-Level-Crossings-ResearchDatabase.pdf http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/reports/2 008/injcat114.pdf
CURRENT INITIATIVES • In Queensland, the relevant road authority is responsible for protecting level crossings. However, Queensland Rail has historically been heavily involved in the management of these sites. • Through the Open Level Crossing Protection Strategy, Queensland Rail is implementing an extensive program for safety assessment and improvement of level crossings across the state. This long-term $33 million program is funded by the Queensland Government. A total of $20 million has been spent to date. • Queensland Rail has recently established an expert Taskforce of train drivers, safety and technical specialists and unions to fast track improvements to level crossings across the state. An additional $10 million has been made available immediately for priority works in North Queensland. • About 60% of level crossing accidents in Queensland in the past 18 months were in North Queensland (Mackay to Townsville) • The Boom Gates for Rail Crossings Program is Queensland Rail's third level crossing upgrade project now underway. This project is
Railway Crossings Fact Sheet
aimed at delivering safety improvements to 66 level crossings across Queensland. Boom gates will be installed at each of these crossings by June 2010. The Australian Government provided the Queensland Government with funding for these upgrades as part of the $26.4 billion Nation Building and Jobs Package which will deliver and maintain vital road and rail infrastructure. Queensland Rail is now delivering almost $70 million in level crossing upgrades throughout Queensland
EDUCATION AND COM MUNITY AW ARENESS • Queensland Rail spends more than $250,000 each year to promote rail safety through advertising, highway billboards, and school visits by our education officers • Queensland Rail delivers ‘RailSmart’ – a safety educational program to schools and communities to raise awareness and educate people about general rail user safety, including level crossings and corridor trespass on Queensland Rail property. • In 2007/08 Queensland Rail visited 438 schools, community groups and events, speaking directly to more than 150,000 Queenslanders about rail safety.
• Queensland Rail conducts public awareness campaigns via the media throughout Queensland. In addition, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 National Rail Safety Awareness Week activities focussed on improving road safety awareness at level crossings in urban and regional Queensland. • Queensland Rail has worked with Queensland Transport and the Queensland Bus Industry Council to produce information for bus operators to promote bus safety at level crossings. Other Queensland Rail measures underway to improve safety include: • Working with the Cooperative Research Centre for Rail Innovation to conduct research into improved preventative measures for level crossings • Continuing research conducted by QUT’s Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety Queensland (CARRS-Q) on high-risk road users and developing road safety counter measures to make railway crossings safer. • A pilot rollout of Queensland Rail safety surveillance cameras will also continue during 2009 at selected crossings where multiple infringements and near misses have been reported, following a successful trial of the new camera technology in Brisbane in 2008.
KEY FACTS • Queensland has about 1,800 public level crossings, and all have warnings for motorists. By law pedestrians and drivers must obey all road traffic signs and signals. • The warnings are determined following regular and thorough risk assessment procedures by local committees comprising Queensland Rail, Queensland Transport, Main Roads Department and the respective local authority under a national assessment program. • Queensland Rail and road authorities manage public level crossings. About 30% have flashing lights and/or boom gates.
STATISTICS AND RESEARCH • Level crossing accidents on average represent less than 1% of total road fatalities in Australia each year (source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau). • Of the level crossing collisions on Queensland Rail tracks in the past seven years: 99% were directly attributable to the road user 96% occurred at public level crossings 50% occurred at crossings with boom gates and/or flashing lights 25% of collisions involved heavy vehicles. • On average in Queensland there are 17 collisions a year between road users and trains at rail level crossings. • An average of two people per year is killed in level crossing accidents. • The number of level crossing collisions in Queensland has dropped about 30% over the last decade.
• In 2008, there were five fatalities at level crossings in Queensland. • On 1 January 2009, a driver of a truck was killed in a level crossing accident near Innisfail. • More research can be found at: http://www.railcrc.net.au/publications/downloa ds/R2100-Level-Crossings-ResearchDatabase.pdf http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/reports/2 008/injcat114.pdf
CURRENT INITIATIVES • In Queensland, the relevant road authority is responsible for protecting level crossings. However, Queensland Rail has historically been heavily involved in the management of these sites. • Through the Open Level Crossing Protection Strategy, Queensland Rail is implementing an extensive program for safety assessment and improvement of level crossings across the state. This long-term $33 million program is funded by the Queensland Government. A total of $20 million has been spent to date. • Queensland Rail has recently established an expert Taskforce of train drivers, safety and technical specialists and unions to fast track improvements to level crossings across the state. An additional $10 million has been made available immediately for priority works in North Queensland. • About 60% of level crossing accidents in Queensland in the past 18 months were in North Queensland (Mackay to Townsville) • The Boom Gates for Rail Crossings Program is Queensland Rail's third level crossing upgrade project now underway. This project is
Railway Crossings Fact Sheet
aimed at delivering safety improvements to 66 level crossings across Queensland. Boom gates will be installed at each of these crossings by June 2010. The Australian Government provided the Queensland Government with funding for these upgrades as part of the $26.4 billion Nation Building and Jobs Package which will deliver and maintain vital road and rail infrastructure. Queensland Rail is now delivering almost $70 million in level crossing upgrades throughout Queensland
EDUCATION AND COM MUNITY AW ARENESS • Queensland Rail spends more than $250,000 each year to promote rail safety through advertising, highway billboards, and school visits by our education officers • Queensland Rail delivers ‘RailSmart’ – a safety educational program to schools and communities to raise awareness and educate people about general rail user safety, including level crossings and corridor trespass on Queensland Rail property. • In 2007/08 Queensland Rail visited 438 schools, community groups and events, speaking directly to more than 150,000 Queenslanders about rail safety.
• Queensland Rail conducts public awareness campaigns via the media throughout Queensland. In addition, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 National Rail Safety Awareness Week activities focussed on improving road safety awareness at level crossings in urban and regional Queensland. • Queensland Rail has worked with Queensland Transport and the Queensland Bus Industry Council to produce information for bus operators to promote bus safety at level crossings. Other Queensland Rail measures underway to improve safety include: • Working with the Cooperative Research Centre for Rail Innovation to conduct research into improved preventative measures for level crossings • Continuing research conducted by QUT’s Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety Queensland (CARRS-Q) on high-risk road users and developing road safety counter measures to make railway crossings safer. • A pilot rollout of Queensland Rail safety surveillance cameras will also continue during 2009 at selected crossings where multiple infringements and near misses have been reported, following a successful trial of the new camera technology in Brisbane in 2008.
