No ‘off the shelf’ solutions to barrier arm concerns

The collision between a train and car near Taihape on Saturday 14 July 2007 focused attention on the number of level crossings that aren’t protected by barrier arms. ONTRACK Acting Chief Executive William Peet explained that there is no “off the shelf” solution to the issue.

Nobody would have wished it, but the tragic collision at the Ohingaiti railway level crossing that orphaned a five year old girl has given National Rail Safety Awareness Week heightened relevance and urgency.

Accident statistics come at us thick and fast. As a nation we become desensitised to the pain and suffering that lie behind them. It takes an event like Ohingaiti to bring the human dimension home to us.

Level crossing safety is a particular focus of Rail Safety Awareness Week. In the days since the Ohingaiti collision, ONTRACK has been asked many times why all level crossings don’t have barrier arms?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer. The barrier arm coverage at the country’s level crossings is the result of the legacy of the past, the costs involved and the engineering time and skills involved.

In the past, concern about protection at railway level crossings has been less intense than it is today. We also know that for a number of years in private sector ownership, the rail network suffered from lack of investment.

ONTRACK has been responsible for the national rail infrastructure since late 2004 – getting on for three years. In that time, we’ve upgraded close to 20 crossings – about three times the number achieved in preceding years.

Today we have approximately 1400 public level crossings and only half of them are protected by active alarms. Of those with active alarm systems, about 20 percent have barrier arms – the others have flashing lights and bells.

That leaves 700 or so crossings protected only by warning signs.

A small number of these don’t lend themselves to barrier arms because of the road configuration. The S bend at Ohingaiti is an example.

Designing, building and installing a set of barrier arms costs on average $150,000. Multiply this by 700, and you get a figure of approximately $100 million.

This money just can’t come from the rail operators who run services on the tracks. They have a right to expect that the charges they pay for using the network go back into maintaining and improving the network.

Each year ONTRACK applies for funding from the Crown for what we call public good funding. A portion of this funding is earmarked, along with funding from Land Transport New Zealand, for level crossing upgrades.

Arguably just as much of a constraint as money is the need for skilled staff to implement the work. Barrier arms might look deceptively simple, but each installation takes months of design work, planning and testing.

Each set needs to be individually tailored to the crossing. They can’t simply come off the shelf and onto the level crossing.

It should now be obvious why it’s likely to take time to get barrier arms fitted around the whole network.

ONTRACK can’t escape the need to make judgement calls about which crossings to upgrade using the resources available. Tragedies of the kind that unfolded at Ohingaiti put pressure on us to adopt an ad hoc approach by reacting to the latest collision.

We find ourselves in an unenviable situation. It’s hard to say no to those who appeal to us to install barrier arms at crossings where they have lost family members or friends.

But to be fair to all communities around the country, we have to make decisions based on objective information. The crossings we upgrade meet an objective test based on the volume of road and rail traffic, the collision history of the crossing and any other relevant factors like visibility along the line.

I’ve heard some people say they were surprised that a crossing on State Highway 1 didn’t have barrier arms. We make no apologies for the fact that SHI takes its place in the queue along with other highways.

To those who are impatient that progress isn’t being made, we point to the fact that of 30 collision “black spots” identified ten years ago, only six now remain. I’ve already noted that ONTRACK has upgraded 20 of these in less than three years.

I’d like to think this reassures the advocates for faster progress that we are doing our bit to improve safety at level crossings. From an ONTRACK’s point of view, I’d also like to think they recognised that safety is a two-way street.

It’s staggering that on average 13 percent of collisions occur at crossings already protected by barrier arms and almost half at crossings with either barrier arms or lights and bells.

Road users must develop greater awareness that trains have right of way and warning signs and devices must be obeyed.

A road user would be reluctant to drive through a red light at a highway crossroads. Yet at railway crossings, it happens frequently.

My hope is that National Rail Awareness Week – and its tragic harbinger, will help get the message home.