Rail safety advocate Lara Jensen appeals to PM to enact mandatory train illumination standards

Passionate rail safety advocate and Improve Train Lighting and Level Crossing Safety spokeswoman Lara Jensen is appealing to the Prime Minister to legislate mandatory train illumination standards across Australia.

In a letter to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Ms Jensen, a Murchison pastoralist, said requests for safety measures at “notorious” regional level crossings have been “ignored by federal and state governments over many decades”.

Dated May 17, the letter marks what would have been Christian Jensen’s 45th birthday.

Mr Jensen, along with his two friends Jessica-Lea Broad and Hilary Smith, died after their vehicle was hit by a train at Yarramony Crossing on July 8, 2000.

“I did not choose to be a rail safety advocate, rather through unthinkable tragedy I have found myself part of a fraternity that nobody wants to belong to — a group of families who have all lost loved ones to completely preventable rail crashes and who are fighting for decades-overdue rail safety reform in Australia,” Ms Jensen said in her letter.

“ . . . I am writing to you to appeal to you for leadership on this protracted safety issue that has disproportionately affected rural communities for decades too long.”

In her letter to Mr Albanese, Ms Jensen said the safety issue had “disproportionately affected rural communities for decades too long”.

She asked him to not forget about regional Australians and legislate mandatory train illumination standards across Australia.

“Coroner Hope recommended that all locomotives be fitted with external auxiliary lighting in addition to ditch lighting to effectively warn motorists of oncoming trains,” she wrote.

“These recommendations were completely ignored by state and federal governments and the rail industry and remain un-acted on to this day.

The Federal Government’s 2023-2032 National Level Crossing Safety Strategy outlines 39 fatalities, 322 collisions, 49 serious injuries, and 7839 near hits at level crossings across Australia between July 2014 and December 2022.

Ahead of the WA State election in March, the WA Nationals pledged to implement lighting regulations, including rotating beacons, side lighting, and enhanced reflectors, for all trains and rolling stock operating across the state.

The WA Liberals did not match the Nationals’ pledge but said the party would call for legally mandated train lighting, while WA Labor did not make any train lighting commitment.

State Coroner Alastair Hope made a recommendation in the 2001 coronial inquest into Mr Jensen, Ms Broad, and Ms Smith’s deaths that trains be fitted with lights to provide “effective warning” to road users “as soon as practicable”.

In her bid to have lights installed at regional level crossings Ms Jensen wrote to the WA Coroner’s Court in December to request to speak to the now-retired State Coroner in relation to the inquest, but her request was denied.

Acting principal registrar Sarah Tyler responded to Ms Jensen’s inquiry, stating the 1996 Coroners Act does not empower the State Coroner to “compel any party to implement or action those recommendations”.

“It would most unfortunate if regulatory authorities did not undertake careful consideration of the State Coroner’s recommendation in this case, but there is no power for the State Coroner to force action to be taken,” Ms Tyler said.

Ms Tyler said the Coroner’s Court would investigate and “closely scrutinise” the response of regulatory authorities to the 2001 safety recommendation if it were “relevant to any future death”.

Mr Hope said in the 2001-2002 State Coroners’ Annual Report there “would appear to be no good reason for failing to have some form of lighting illuminating the side of trains at night”.

The Prime Minister’s office has been contacted for comment.