News Item on Railway Crossings

[ThomasJ]

News item on the danger posed by manual level crossings. So could this be afforded? (to replace all manual crossings)

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhojcwsnojgb/

Manually-operated railway crossings must be automated and fitted with flashing lights, the Dáil heard today.

Co Mayo TD Michael Ring said an elderly constituent was killed when he was struck by a train near Straide last month.

The collision occurred where the Ballina to Dublin railway line intersects a minor road which has manually-operated barrier gates.

Mr Ring said there were 230 such crossings in the country which were posing a safety risk to local road users.

He said new Irish Rail trains were faster and had quieter engines so some local residents had difficulty hearing them approach.

“I’m calling or automatic barriers and flashing lights or other people will be killed,” he claimed.

“There are 230 such railway crossings in this country. It is a health and safety issue.

“We want no more lives lost. What we want is Irish Rail to provide automatic barriers and the flashing lights.”

The Fine Gael TD called for the safety measures to be part of EU regulations on railway crossings to protect people’s lives.

Art, Sport & Tourism Minister Seamus Brennan, who was representing the Government, said the issues raised by Mr Ring related to secondary legislation.

He said Transport Minister Noel Dempsey would contact him directly.

[Mark Gleeson]

Once again Parish pump politics

If you follow the instructions on the crossing and exercise common sense you shouldn't have problems. A booklet is issued to all land owners with private level crossings. Anyone in any doubt can ring the signalman. User operated gates appear as a question on the new driver theory test

Its really simple,
0) Turn off the radio, open car windows
1) Read the instructions carry out any actions they require
2) If no train
3) Open near gate
4) Check still clear
5) Cross and open far side gate
6) Check still clear
7) Cross quickly
8) Close gates

The level crossing in question (XX032) had been upgraded in recent years and appears to meet all requirements. It was not considered a target for replacement by bridge or automation and the safety people would have signed off on that

A formal investigation is ongoing and will publish its findings you can be sure manual level crossings are still going to be ok. This reminds me of the outcome of a case at the coroner's court which recommend trains should slow down to pass through stations such that they could stop if someone jumped out. Hardly practical

It must be noted its not the first time the deceased had been in a train vs car level crossing incident

[ThomasJ]

I see that in the Independent today there is notice of an upgrade of a level crossing in Ballyhar Co. Kerry over to weekend to automated.

You say Mark that advice on this has been issued to landowners with private level crossings. Would there be any local roads that would follow this structure?

[Mark Gleeson]

Manual user gates are for farm crossings and access, you shouldn't find one on a public road. IE have issued the booklet to all parties. They keep an eye on the land owners, since a change of ownership may allow crossing closure

That said they are in the rules of the road

[James Shields]

Parish pump politics it may be, but crossings should be eliminated wherever possible. Manual crossings may be safe if you follow the rules, but the procedure could take a considerable amount of time for an elderly person who is otherwise perfectly fit to drive, increasing the risk exposure.

I worked in Galway for a few months many years ago and there was an unguarded crossing with warning lights near where I was staying. I think it should be technically feasible to fit warning lights to many crossings, at least in the computer controlled paers of the network. Manual crossings with warning lights would be a lot safer, though I expect they wouldn't come cheap.

In fairness to IE, that have stated their goal is to eliminate as many crossings as possible, and as far as I know they've got rid of almost a thousand in the last few years.

[Thomas J Stamp]

ZZZZZZZZZ

[Mark Gleeson]

ZZZZZZZZZZ enough for members area so

Its a infrastructure issue per say doesn't really impact passengers