Level crossings
Railway level crossings (RLC) involve both the public and private railways and public and private roads that cross at the same grade. Level crossings are spread throughout NSW on State, Regional and Local Roads. Individual rail and road authorities are responsible for the management of the various components of infrastructure associated with an RLC.
Australian Transport Ministers voted in February 2008 to approve the Rail Safety (Amendment No.2) Bill. The NSW Rail Safety Bill 2008 Division 3 Interface Coordination with legislate that road and rail infrastructure managers must jointly develop and agree on an interface agreement with any RLC. The purpose of the Interface Coordination provisions is to ensure that rail infrastructure managers and road authorities identify risks to safety arising from rail and road crossings, and to determine measures to manage risks.
Improvements required
RLC present a risk to the safety of road users, pedestrians and trains, either passenger or freight services within New South Wales. Whilst the number of crashes and injuries to individuals is relatively low, we still need to minimise the potential for fatalities and serious injuries to users of level crossings. Minimising the risk of accidents also reduces the incidents of extended delays to the operations of the road and the rail networks.
RailCorp must abide by various regulations, standards and guidelines applicable to level crossings in New South Wales. Some of them are listed below:
Disability Discrimination Act 1992- Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002
- Australian Standard AS 1428.2. Design for access and mobility – Enhanced and additional requirements
- Australian Standard AS 1055.2. Acoustics – Description and measurement of environmental noise – Application to specific situations
- Australian Standard AS 1742.7. manual of uniform traffic control devices – Railway crossings
- RailCorp EPA Environment Protection Licence EPL 12208
- Signalling Construction Standard for level crossing equipment – SC07600000SP
- AREMA. American Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association guidelines (2201)
Improvements for level crossings mainly include:
- Installation of flashing lights and warning (audible) bells known as tone generators, with or without boom barriers
- Widening of road pavement over tracks by improving road alignment, kerb and guttering
- Widening and sealing of approaches to crossings and the provision of vehicle escape bays
- Pedestrian crossing with automatic gates
- Other road and railway works that support the upgrade of level crossings in NSW
More information