6 March 2012

Level crossing collision risk identified

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is recommending that safety at a number of intersections close to rail level crossings should be addressed to ensure longer road vehicles of legal length can wait at them without the rear of the vehicle sitting across the tracks and risking collision with a train.

The Commission has recommended to the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency, who has regulatory responsibility for both rail and road transport, that he address the safety issue as a matter of urgency.

The recommendation is one of three urgent recommendations to emerge from the Commission’s continuing inquiry into the non-injury collision on 31 October 2011 of a freight train with a passenger bus which had become stuck on the Beach Road level crossing at Paekakariki, about 40 kilometres north of Wellington.

The other two recommendations relate to the compatibility of super-low floor buses with the Beach Road level crossing profile and the length of road vehicle waiting distance between the Beach Road level crossing and the nearby intersection with State Highway One.

The recommendations were made on 16 December 2011 and released publicly today (6 March 2012) following a response from the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency on 28 February 2012.

Inquiry 11-104: urgent recommendations

Urgent recommendations 029/11, 030/11 and 031/11

On 31 October 2011, a freight train collided with a passenger bus, which became stuck on the Beach Road level crossing at Paekakariki. Following that incident, the Commission opened an inquiry under section 13(1) of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act 1990 to determine the circumstances and causes of this occurrence.

As a result of the Commission’s inquiries, to date, it uncovered three safety issues, which it considered required urgent attention. The first safety issue concerned the compatibility of super low floor buses with the Beach Road level crossing road profile. The second safety issue concerned the waiting (stacking) distance between the Beach Road level crossing and State Highway One; and the third safety issue concerned the stacking distances at other public level crossings. Three recommendations raising these safety issues were issued to the Chief Executive of the NZ Transport Agency on 16 December 2011.

Recommendation 029/11 - compatibility of super low floor buses with Beach Road level crossing profile

The profile (specifically the rate-of-change in gradient) of the Beach Road level crossing at Paekakariki on the State Highway One side has been formed in such a way that ‘super-low-floor’ buses like the one involved in the Beach Road level crossing accident (or of similar design) are at risk of becoming stuck with their back end foul of the railway tracks when they stop, as they are required to do, at the stop sign before turning right onto State Highway One. In other words the same or similar accident could happen again.

The Commission recommends to the Chief Executive of the NZ Transport Agency that he as a matter of urgency address this safety issue.

On 28 February 2012 the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency responded in part as follows:

Following this collision incident, staff from the NZ Transport Agency, MWH (infrastructure consultants), KiwiRail and Kapiti Coast District Council met and implemented the following actions:

• The NZ Transport Agency has erected a surveillance camera on-site and is currently monitoring the usage of this crossing by heavy vehicles, driver behaviour and the number of incidents caused by road profiling and/or stacking distances;

• The design and profiling of the level crossing have been assessed. As a result, remedial work covering re-profiling the intersection and redesign of the splitter island to create room for a large vehicle to make a left turn in the situation when a right turn is not possible is underway. Works are expected to be completed by 16 May 2012 as part of a programmed carriageway rehabilitation scheme.

Aspects of the bus design have also been considered The Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass (the rule) in table 4.1 specifically sets ground clearance requirements for all heavy vehicles based on a design to adequately clear level rail crossings and similar. The required clearance is the greater of 100 mm [millimetres] or 6% of the distance from the nearest axle to the point where the ground clearance is measured. The actual ground clearance of the bus does comply. It is noted that the bus has a manual override to lower the bus to facilitate ease of boarding by lowering passenger floor height. This feature is permitted under the Rule when the vehicle is loading or unloading.

The NZ Transport Agency has also noted that a circular produced by the Bus and Coach Association has been distributed following this collision. It highlights this incident and particularly the Train Control emergency contact number. We are also aware that the Train Control emergency number has been added to the list of emergency contact numbers in all buses operated by the company involved in the collision.

Recommendation 030/11 - waiting (stacking) distance between Beach Road level crossing and State Highway One

The distance between the compulsory stop line and the rail corridor at the Beach Road level crossing at Paekakariki is 10.5 metres. The bus involved in the Beach Road level crossing incident was 12.6 metres long. Many other buses and various configurations of trucks are longer than 10.5 metres. This means that when one of these long vehicles stop at the stop sign (as they are required to do) the back of their vehicle will foul the rail corridor and be at risk of being struck by a train. Technically then any such vehicles intending to turn right on to State Highway One cannot comply with the road rules when using this level crossing. Any long vehicle will be at risk of being struck by a train when waiting at the stop sign for a break in the traffic travelling on State Highway One. Additionally, there is no signage at the level crossing warning drivers of long vehicles that there is only 10.5 metres stacking distance.

The Commission recommends to the Chief Executive of the NZ Transport Agency that he as a matter of urgency address this safety issue.

On 28 February 2012 the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency responded in part as follows:

The stacking distance issue applying to right turning traffic exiting/entering Beach Road from State Highway One is acknowledged. However a solution to this is problematic.

Restriction of turning movements out of Beach Road is not favoured by the Kapiti Coast District Council. However, the prohibition of right turns out of Hill Road would simplify movements at the intersection and might aid right turns out of Beach Road. This option will be investigated further.

Installation of traffic signals is a high cost option requiring land acquisition. Although this is favoured by the Kapiti Road District Council, it has the potential to impose significant delays on the State Highway resulting in queuing and the potential to increase the collision risk. The current crash record at the intersection is low and it is likely that this option would increase it.

Further to the above, the NZ Transport Agency has been advised by the Greater Wellington Regional Council is considering the mandating of shorter buses at the Beach Road level crossing.

Recommendation 031/11 - stacking distances at other public level crossings

KiwiRail is aware of 264 other public level crossings throughout New Zealand that have the same or similar issues with stacking distances for long road vehicles as that encountered at the Beach Road level crossing at Paekakariki.

The Commission recommends to the Chief Executive of the NZ Transport Agency that he address this safety issue as a matter of urgency.

On 28 February 2012 the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency responded in part as follows:

KiwiRail has provided information that there are now 252 level crossings with less than 23 metres distance between the centreline of the nearest railway line and the continuity/edge line at an adjacent intersection where road traffic from the railway does not have right of way. I have attached a register for your information. The register of crossings has been coded according to collision history in the last ten years. There are nine crossings that had two or more collisions. Of these five had alarm upgrades during this period and there have been no further collisions.

Further analysis by KiwiRail indicates that average collision rates (adjusted for the level of both road and rail traffic) at crossings where there are adjacent intersections within 23 metres are only 6% higher that collision rates at crossings with no nearby intersection. This suggests that it is where there is a high level of traffic on the parallel road that risk of collision significantly increases. This matter is subject to further discussion between KiwiRail and NZ Transport Agency to determine further options.

The NZ Transport Agency takes this situation seriously and will continue to discuss these situations with external parties to explore new solutions for the improvement of rail and road safety.

SAFETY REC ENDS

© Scoop Media