IRISH RAIL HAS appealed for renewed vigilance from the public at level crossings, with thirty incidents of misuse of the crossings being recorded so far this year.

This is an increase on the 28 incidents recorded at the same time last year. 

Eleven of these incidents resulted in damage to the crossing or injury to the person using the crossing, with the majority involving road vehicles colliding with crossing gates or barriers. 

The level crossing on Serpentine Avenue in Dublin was the most frequent location involved in incidents, with five.

This was followed by Sutton, with three incidents, and Bray, Claremont, Coolmine and Sandymount, with two incidents taking place at each level crossing. 

Irish Rail has released footage of some of the incidents as part of its safety appeal to mark International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD).

The company has partnered with An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority to host information mornings at ten level crossings to mark ILCAD and educate road users about the dangers of not acting safely at level crossings.

For DART users, these information mornings will take place at Sutton, Cosh, Bray, Merrion Gates and Serpentine Avenue. 

For the national network, they will be held at Lisnagry, Co Limerick; Farranfore, Co Kerry; Athenry, Co Galway; Sullivan’s Crossing, Co Galway and Oranmore, Co Galway. 

New safety cameras

The company also announced that Gardaí are planning to introduce up to six Garda/Go Safe safety cameras to operate at railway level crossings to “enhance safety for rail and road users”.

The cameras will record motorists using the crossing and will automatically issue a fine of €160 for speeding, or €80 for breaking a red light, and are liable for three penalty points for either. 

“Driver behaviour is becoming more and more problematic at level crossings and I believe these measures will result in improved safety for all, protecting rail and road users alike,” Irish Rail CEO Jim Meade said. 

The cameras will initially operate in a test phase and become fully activated once the test is completed. Irish Rail said they will be deployed dependent on driver behaviour.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Irish Rail’s corporate communications manager Barry Kenny said that Garda figures show that where the safety cameras have been deployed across the roads network, driver compliance of up to 98.6% is achieved. 

Kenny said speed surveys were conducted at some of the level crossings as part of planning for the new cameras. At one crossing, a speed of 152km/h was recorded through a 50km/h an hour zone.

“If you’ve got barriers coming down in that situation, you have a serious incident,” he said.

He described the cameras as “quite mobile units” that can be moved around “in terms of where the need is, where you’re seeing behaviour issues”.

Kenny added that Irish Rail hope the cameras will be up and running “later this year”.

There are currently 861 level crossings on the Irish Rail network. These are a combination of automated CCTV crossings, manned crossings and unmanned user operated accommodation crossings.

Irish Rail said it is working to eliminate as many level crossings as practicable, having closed 134 crossings since 2014. 

Almost 300 people die at level crossings across Europe every year. Level crossing accidents account for 1% of road deaths in Europe, but 31% of all rail fatalities.

Irish Rail said there have been no level crossing fatalities in Ireland since 2010. However, it said vigilance is “essential”.

It reminded users of the onus to use crossings responsibly:

• At automatic crossings: stop safely when the warning lights begin to flash. Never go through crossings when barriers are about to lower or lowering.
• At staff operated crossings: respect gatekeepers, whose role is to ensure your safety and that of rail users. Stop immediately when the gatekeeper requests it.
• At user operated crossings: Always stop before crossing to check the line, check the line again after crossing, and always close the gate after use for your safety and that of others.