‘Road users and rail workers are dying’: Trucking Association calls for mandated train lighting standards

The Australian Trucking Association has called for train lighting to be mandated by law, criticising a draft code of practice which made safety recommendations to prevent rail crossing accidents. The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator draft Code of Practice on Level Crossings and Train Visibility, which opened for public feedback in March, was created in response to trials that found additional train lighting would help prevent future collisions at rail crossings. ATA chair David Smith said the code would not prevent any accidents because, as it stood, rail operators were not legally obligated to abide by any of the safety recommendations. “The code’s voluntary and non-binding nature is problematic for improving train illumination,” he said. “Accidents at night-time represent a significant proportion of total road deaths, suggesting that decreased visibility plays a significant role in collisions. “Road users and rail workers are dying, and better lighting on locomotives and wagons, such as flashing beacon lights and side lights could prevent crashes and save lives.” National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar agreed the code would not have an effect on rail safety and it had been “incredibly frustrating to rural and regional communities.” “In its present state, the code is not much better than an aspirational guide It will add another layer of data collection and reporting, but will effectively allow the rail industry to self-regulate without having tangible outcomes.” Lara Jensen, the spokeswomen for the Improve Train Lighting and Level Crossing Safety Group, applauded ATA’s call to legally mandate train lighting standards. “In all hazardous, high risk industries, flashing lights are used to warn people of an approaching hazard, yet trains, that can be 1.8km or longer, have lighting that is little more than what you see on motorbikes,” she said. “Most regional crossings don’t have boom gates or flashing lights and with trains often operating in the dark, it is an extremely dangerous combination as coroners, numerous committees and multiple investigations have found over the years.” ATA’s criticism follows a public consultation session on the draft code, which Ms Jensen said had left rail crash victims’ families with “complete disappointment” after they found out the draft code was “nothing more than a non-binding code devoid of enforceability measures”. “Alarmingly, there are draft sections in the code that encourage rail operators to do as little as they would like, akin to more of the same self-regulation of the rail industry that our families have been forced to observe in our journey lobbying for rail safety reform over the last two decades,” she said. “This is completely unacceptable for a high risk hazardous industry in 2024.” Mr Smith said the code should be transitioned into regulations under the Rail Safety National Law to ensure greater accountability and safety compliance in the rail industry. “Trucks are required by law to meet minimum lighting and illumination standards. There is no reason why trains should not be subject to similar requirements,” he said. The draft code also comes after a recent re-draft of AS7531, the standard governing train and rolling stock illumination, which copped backlash from train lighting advocates for not including beacon lighting, despite recommendations made from past reports. These included two national train lighting reports, as well as coronial recommendations made by WA State Coroner Alastair Hope after the death of Ms Jensen’s brother, Christian, and two friends at a level crossing near Jennacubbine in 2000. In response to the criticism on the draft code of practice, an Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator spokesperson said level crossing safety was a multi-faceted topic. “Improving safety at level crossings is a complex issue that requires stakeholders from across road and rail industries to manage their unique safety risks and to coordinate efforts in good faith to implement safety measures to manage these risks,” they said. “The development of a Code of Practice is one such measure.” The spokesperson said the organisation welcomed all submissions on the code and will now be going through a reviewing process. “All submissions will now be comprehensively reviewed and will inform the process to finalise a draft code to be presented to Australia’s transport and infrastructure ministers for consideration by the middle of the year.”