Rail Safety Week is kicking off for its second year to save lives by drawing attention to near misses at railway crossings.
This year’s campaign is sharing stories of locomotive engineers who have experienced a near miss that’s been caught on camera.
In the last twelve months KiwiRail recorded more than 300 near misses across the rail network. Of these, 191 near misses occurred at public level crossings and the majority of those crossings had flashing lights and bells or barrier arms.
Since 2013, 110 pedestrians and motorists have died in collisions with trains in New Zealand, with 43 of those deaths at level crossings.
KiwiRail chief executive Greg Miller says while people might walk or drive away after a near miss, these split-second decisions can cause long-term effects for everyone.
“A freight train weighing 1,000 tonnes across 30 wagons can take a kilometre to come to a stop once the brakes are applied. It also takes time for the commuter trains in Auckland and Wellington to stop.
“Quite often our locomotive engineers know how it’s going to turn out. They sound the horn, hit the emergency brakes and, often, hit the floor and get behind a safety block.
“They are hoping that against all the odds the person or vehicle will get out of the way in time, and that this won’t become one of the worst days of their lives.”
There has been a drop in recorded near misses on last year but it’s likely the COVID-19 lockdown played a part in the drop. Between late March and June near misses halved at level crossings compared with the same time last year.
TrackSAFE NZ foundation manager says the initiative is a chance for people to hear the drivers’ stories and to put themselves in their position.
“We’ve set up a campaign website where people can explore near-miss memorials, which are locations where there’s be a recorded near miss, mostly at level crossings.
“These near misses are represented by a thought-provoking half cross ‘memorial’ to show the severity of what could have happened and that these people narrowly avoided a serious or fatal collision,” Drayton says.
Transport minister Phil Twyford says good progress is being made rolling out upgrades like automatic gates to save lives.
In Auckland, 23 high-risk pedestrian crossings have had barrier gates installed, with 15 more planned. Wellington is seeing upgrades to 12 pedestrian crossings, with improvements planned for at least 27 road crossings in the Wairarapa, Twyford says.
“On top of that, KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi [NZTA] have also completed upgrades to 17 level crossings around the country, with another 20 to be completed before the middle of next year. They are also looking ahead to what could be in the next phase of upgrades,” he says.
Rail Safety Week is an annual event, planned and co-ordinated by KiwiRail and TrackSAFE NZ in close association with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, NZ Police, Auckland Transport, Transdev Auckland, Transdev Wellington, Greater Wellington Regional Council and local councils around the country.
This year’s campaign features “near miss memorials” at key level crossings and runs from August 10 to 16.
*Go to nearmisses.co.nz for more information.
