Lxinfo - Australasia

Melbourne, Victoria: VRCSSC considers pedestrian crossing controls

Victoria’s Railway Crossing Safety Steering Group (VRCSSC) has considered research looking at pedestrian level crossing controls which have been trialled at the Center Road level crossing in Bentleigh with a view to improve safety and deter crossing the railway illegally.

The approach adopted was to conduct before and after studies looking at each of the technologies trialled to inform VRCSSC making policy decisions for application across Victoria. The technologies trialled were:

An active another train coming (ATC) sign
A Red Standing Man (RSM) sign
Mechanical Emergency Escape Gate Latches (MEEGL)
Electro-magnetic Emergency Escape Gate Latches (EMEEGL)

Another Train Coming Sign (ATC)

The effectiveness of the ATC was not prominent due to physical restrictions currently in place, which are the automated pedestrian gates and locked emergency escape gates deterring pedestrians from using the railway crossing regardless if there is another train coming or not.

The ATC sign provides additional information to pedestrians when another train is approaching. However, based on the cost benefit analysis performed in the Human Factors Level Crossing Studies commissioned, the initial outlay for this control would be disproportionate to the benefits seen.

Red Standing Man Sign (RSM)

The study found that pedestrians may carry-over the mental model of the RSM sign used at road crossings to cross illegally “because they can when safe” regardless if the wait is short. The carry over of this mental model to the railway crossing would be undesireable. Also at Bentleigh, where the pedestrian gates restrict the crossing, the RSM sign would not provide additional benefit as pedestrians have no where to cross.

At actively controlled pedestrian crossings, the rail infrastructure currently provide sufficient warning to the public of a train approaching and the RSM sign would not significantly improve the safety of the public. Also, the cost of implementation is disproportionate to the benefits

Mechanical Emergency Escape Gate Latches (MEEGL)

The installation of the EEGL was found to reduce illegal crossing and improve the safety at pedestrian crossings. A human factors study recommended that the signage at the EEGL is simplified by removing “emergency from the “emergency exit” signage.

The mechanical latch installed at Bentleigh requires regular labour intensive maintenance to sustain its optimal performance. This was due to the number of moving parts and mechanical complexity. Due to these concerns, it was recommended that an electromagnetic latch be trialled and compared to the mechanical latch to determine the most appropriate latch to be used.

Electromagnetic Emergency Escape Gate Latch (EMEEGL)

Emergency Escape Gate, source VRCSSG

Studies have confirmed that there are advantages in using electro-magnetic emergency escape gate latches rather than the mechanical locking. In particular the EMEEGL reduced the number of occasions on which the emergency escape gate latch was opened from outside (i.e. by people intent on crossing illegally by 96.7%. The EMEEGL has a higher first cost than the MEEGL but greater reliability and substantially reduced maintenance costs than the mechanical alternative. The study concluded that substantially lower costs of installation when an EMEEGL was fitted within a wider crossing upgrade project in which the marginal cost of an EMEEGL was less than AU$28k for two pedestrian gates compared with costs of AU121k when progressed as a free-standing retro-fit to an active level crossing.

In light of the studies outlined above, VRCSSC concluded:

The ATC sign is not recommended for usage at actively or passively controlled pedestrian crossings.
The use of the ATC sign referenced in Australian Standard AS1742.7 should be discussed with Australian Standards
The RSM sign is not recommended for use where pedestrian traffic is actively controlled
Australian Standard AS 1742.7-2007 should be updated to make the RSM sign optional rather than mandated as at present.
Emergency Escape Gate Latch exit signs should be simplified to read “exit” rather than “emergency exit”. A walking man symbol should be added along with an arrow indicating the direction to walk to access the refuge
The EMEEGL should be installed at all future upgrades of pedestrian crossings. When considering retro-fit of the EMEEGL to existing active pedestrian crossings, each location should be risk assessed taking into consideration of the pedestrian volumes and behavioural tendency to illegally cross through the emergency escape path
The EMEEGL requires a standard configuration to ensure consistency across the network and most importantly for the visually impaired to comprehend the usage of the EMEEGL’s as part of their routine.

For further information, please contact Terry Spicer, chair of VRCSSC at Terry.Spicer@transport.vic.gov.au

(May 31st, 2010)

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Kerang, Victoria: Inquest delayed until 2011
Inquests into the death of eleven people as a result of the June 2007 collision between a truck and the train on which they were travelling, has been delayed until early next year. The delay is because counsel for VicRoads is not available in September 2009. The inquest will convene on January 18th, 2011 and is expected to last eight days. (May 6th, 2010)