New guidance to improve level crossing safety

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) looking for comments on a new draft guidance publication ‘Principles for managing level crossing safety’.

The guidance aims to support the assessment and control of risks at level crossings, providing a resource for all those involved in level crossing safety.

The ORR intend to replace the existing ORR guidance ‘Level Crossings: a Guide for Managers, Designers and Operators, Railway Safety Publication 7’, with this new publication and updated web-pages.

The proposed guidance is designed to inform the assessment and control of risks at level crossings. It sets out the principles to be applied and some of the factors to be considered when assessing risk at a level crossing. It is also intended to help identify the risks that may foreseeably affect the safety of people who are working or travelling on the railway, as well as all crossing users.

The new principles guidance is divided into four sections covering:

• level crossing risk assessment
• safe for the user principles
• safe railway principles
• safe highway principles.

It is specifically for those in the rail industry, traffic authorities and local authorities, such as:

• designers, planners and engineers
• those dealing with access and public rights of way matters
• managers, staff and volunteers in roles and with responsibilities which affect safety at, or near, level crossings
• other duty holders associated with the railway, such as private land-owners who have rights over the railway, train operating companies and freight operating companies.

Comments on the content of the ‘Principles for managing level crossing safety’ guidance document and views on how helpful it will be as an aid to managing risk at level crossings are invited. The closing date is 26 February 2021.

This is valid as of 27th January 2021.

Comments are closed.