On this page: What is a railway crossing? | Cooperative management of railway level crossings | Risk of collision | Railway crossing protection upgrades
This page provides information about PTSV's role in improving the safety of railway crossings in Victoria.
What is a railway crossing?
Railway level crossings occur where rail and road networks intersect and, as such, represent an area of high risk to safety. Trains have right of way over road and pedestrian traffic at these locations.
Cooperative management of railway level crossings
An amendment to the Rail Safety Act 2006 which takes effect on 1 July 2010 requires rail infrastructure managers and road managers to establish safety interface agreements (SIAs) with each other to ensure cooperative assessment and management of risk at railway level crossings.
Risk of collision
Collisions between vehicles and trains at railway crossings often result in fatalities. Depending on the type of train and vehicle, the result can be catastrophic.
PTSV is leading a number of research initiatives to:
- develop a catastrophic risk model, and
- investigate aspects of railway crossing controls and human behaviour to assist risk prioritisation of upgrades, and to improve the effectiveness of railway crossing mitigations.
Railway crossing protection upgrades
Infrastructure upgrades at railway level and pedestrian crossings are the responsibility of the State Level Crossing Upgrade program overseen by the Victorian Railway Crossing Safety Steering Committee (VRCSSC), with project delivery provided by VicTrack.
PTSV has 'observer' status on the VRCSSC.
To find out more about railway crossings, go to the Department of Transport’s railway crossings page. This is the primary source of information about railway crossing safety in Victoria.