Report into rail level crossings

[ozbob]

########################################

House of Representatives - Email alert service
#########################################

Issued by: House of Representatives Liaison & Projects Office, Monday 22 June 2009

Committee calls for national level crossing changes

A House of Representatives Standing Committee has called for an 80 km/h speed limit at level crossings on major highways with a current speed limit of 100 km/h or more.

In a report to be tabled in Parliament tonight, the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government says the number of collisions at level crossings in Australia was ?unacceptably high?.

The Committee has concluded that there is no single cause for all level crossing crashes, and therefore no single solution.

?The most significant factor leading to level crossing collisions is the behaviour of motor vehicle drivers, including drivers of heavy vehicles,? the Committee found.

?As such, methods to adapt and improve this behaviour have the potential to drastically reduce the number of level crossing crashes across Australia.?

Embargoed copies of the report

Embargoed copies of the Committee?s report are available today, only to members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, from the committee secretariat. The secretariat is located at

R1-121, Parliament House, Canberra. After hours copies are available from the Table Office.

A full copy of the report will be available on 23 June at: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/itrdlg/index.htm

Press conference:

The Chair of the Committee, Catherine King MP, and Deputy Chair Paul Neville MP will conduct a press conference following the presentation of the report in the House of Representatives.

Details:

Time and date:                                          12 pm, June 23 2009

Location:                                               Committee room 1R2, Parliament House Internal broadcast:                                        HMS 95.1 FM

Webstreaming:                                           http://webcast.aph.gov.au/livebroadcasting

For archived press conference footage contact:          broadcasting@aph.gov.au

For interview:

Contact the Committee Chair, Ms Catherine King MP on (02) 6277 4230 (Canberra) or in her electorate on (03) 5338 8123. Or Ms King?s media adviser, Brendan Gullifer, on 0409 855 946.

For background information, including the full terms of reference, please visit the inquiry website notes above or contact the Committee Secretariat on (02) 6277 2358.

Issued by:

Andrew Dawson, media manager, Liaison & Projects Office, House of Representatives Tel: (02) 6277 2063 wk, 0401 143 724 mob.

Have you got About the House magazine yet?

Visit: http://www.aph.gov.au/ath

[ozbob]

==> http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/itrdlg/updatetrainillumination/report.htm

Committee calls for national level crossing changes

Committee calls for national level crossing changes

A House of Representatives Standing Committee has called for an 80 km/h speed limit at level crossings on major highways with a current speed limit of 100 km/h or more.

In a report tabled in Parliament last night, the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government said the number of collisions at level crossings in Australia was ?unacceptably high?.

The Committee, which will hold a media conference in Parliament House Committee Room 1R2 at midday, concluded there was no single cause for all level crossing crashes, and therefore no single solution.

?The most significant factor leading to level crossing collisions is the behaviour of motor vehicle drivers, including drivers of heavy vehicles,? the Committee found.

?As such, methods to adapt and improve this behaviour have the potential to drastically reduce the number of level crossing crashes across Australia.?

Other recommendations by the Committee include:

?       Mandatory ongoing maintenance of retro-reflective materials on trains, as well as strict enforcement

?       Rigorous scientific research into the effectiveness of auxiliary lighting on trains in making them more visible

?       Consistent penalties across Australia for motor vehicle driving offences at level crossings.

?       Further trials of rumble strips at selected level crossings across the country

?       That the Australian Government support ongoing research into intelligent transport systems to transmit information between trains, motor vehicles and infrastructure

?       That further research is conducted into the feasibility of a cut-in radio warning system to warn motor vehicle drivers of on-coming trains as they approach a level crossing

?       That the Australian Government creates a national database which aggregates data from level crossing crashes from around the country, and commits to a revised National Railway Safety Strategy as part of a new National Transport Policy