Rail safety: $180m for level crossings welcomed but no excuse for rail companies to avoid improving lights

Rail safety campaigners have welcomed a $180 million program to make some of regional Australia’s most dangerous level crossings safer, but say it is not an excuse for rail companies to avoid upgrading lighting on trains. The funding boon was unveiled in Scott Morrison’s Federal Budget on March 29, just one month after the Commonwealth quietly unveiled its new National Level Crossing Safety Strategy 2022-31. The Budget commitment included $160 million for upgrades to level crossings, including adding boom gates, flashing lights, improved signage and road rumble strips. There was also $6.5 million for a national level crossing safety education and awareness campaign, $5 million for research into and trials of new level crossing technologies and safety measures and $2 million for improved data collection and risk assessment. A spokesman for Federal Transport Minister Barnaby Joyce said the Government was committed sparing families from the “immeasurable impact” of level crossing deaths. “Funding under this brand new initiative will see more active control systems installed at level crossings in regional areas, making them safer and keeping commuters and freight moving,” he said. “Our commitment to upgrading level crossings in regional areas is part of the more than $25 billion we are investing in road safety projects during the next four years.” WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti welcomed the Federal funding, and said she was committed to working with the Federal Government to improve safety at level crossings. Countryman understands the highest risk sites in regional Australia will be targeted for upgrades, with States and territories invited to nominate priority projects for assessment by the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. Priority sites will have passive control systems upgraded to active control systems, with boom gates and additional lighting and signals installed or “surrounding infrastructure” improved to bolster sighting distances and visibility. Meanwhile, the new National Level Crossing Safety Strategy for 2022-31 will target the most serious rail safety risks and drive action to improve level crossing safety. The funding and the strategy have been unveiled two months after the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation released a report identifying 30 controls for improving train visibility. A group of 12 families – including four from WA – have been campaigning for improved lighting on trains after losing loved ones in rail crossing accidents. Two of Australia’s biggest rail companies — Aurizon and Pacific National — subsequently launched lighting trials on their trains last month with findings to be handed down in May. The trials are being co-ordinated through the Freight on Rail Group of Australia and the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator. In a statement, the families said they believed the funding could upgrade several hundred passive crossings but “several thousand” would remain in a dire state. “Our families appreciate there is a role for road safety education and awareness but we’d rather see a train visibility lighting course for rail companies to instruct them how to illuminate locos and rolling stock before more money is spent on education campaign,” it said. “Rail companies seem to be having great difficulty with the concept that safety lighting is actually something they need to budget and make provision for even though countless trials, reviews and coronial recommendations over decades have all illustrated clearly how serious the problem with train visibility is.” Separately, WA rail safety researcher Brett Hughes handed down a best-practice train lighting concept last month to show rail companies and politicians what should be done. The Yarramony Lights concept was named in honour of Christian Jensen, 20, Hilary Smith, 19, and Jess Broad, 18, who were killed at the Yarramony Level Crossing on July 8, 2000.