What's it going to take?

This week (5-11 August) marks the 19th Rail Safety Week, an annual community awareness week held in Australia and New Zealand, designed to engage the community in safe rail practices.

Unfortunately, in terms of level-crossing incidences in Tasmania, the news has not been good in 2023-24.

The reported instances of level crossing failure to stop or give way by road users across the State almost doubled in the reporting period, up to 68 from 39 reports in
2022-23. There was also a very serious collision at Westbury in April, and serious motor vehicle track obstruction at Stoney Rise in May.

“Our train drivers rely on road users obeying road rules at level crossings, trains cannot swerve or stop instantaneously. It’s in your hands,” Mr Dietrich said.

The most notable increase occurred in the North of the State, with a disappointing 20 instances reported, up from 4 in 2022-23. The NW, traditionally the area with the most reported incidents, has also seen an increase from 31 in 2022-23 to 42 in 2023-24.

“As a business, we seek to control everything that we can to keep everyone safe. It’s the things outside our control that continue to put us all in jeopardy – in particular human behaviour in and around level crossings,” Mr Dietrich said.

“Every year we’ve shown you the stats, we’ve shown you the videos and still this keeps happening. So, we want to know is ... What’s it going to take?”

TasRail has used the Rail Safety Week Platform to launch its own online video campaign, asking What’s it going to take?

The What’s it going to take? campaign is designed to remind the Tasmanian public that the poor choices that they are making in the rail corridor and at level crossings don’t just affect them.

 “We’re very proud of our team members who have shared their personal stories as part of this campaign. They all want to go home safe and well at the end of their shift. They all genuinely want to see safety improvements in their communities and for members of the public to go home safe and well to their families,” Mr Dietrich said.

Mr Dietrich said it had been a tough six months for the rail industry, starting with two fatalities in South Australia on New Year’s Eve.

“We don’t want to head down the same track here in Tasmania,” Mr Dietrich said.

“We hope that this campaign will be the impetus for changes in public behaviour in and around the rail network and that, with the support of all Tasmanians, we will see a shift in behaviour that we can all be proud of.”

For further information about rail industry initiatives during National Rail Safety Week go to https://tracksafefoundation.com.au/event/rail-safety-week/.

Our campaign videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/@tasrailcomms1036