photo: Fritscher / ÖBB/Toward a Zero-Accident Future: ÖBB's Multi-Million Investment in Railway Crossing Safety
As the 'International Day for Safer Railway Crossings' approaches tomorrow, June 15, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) underlines the gravity of railway safety in their annual operations.
Each year, ÖBB invests more than EUR 25 million in initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety of railway crossings or establishing replacement solutions. The continuous safety improvements over the years are reflected in the drop in railway crossings from over 6,000 in 2000 to a mere 2,984 within the Austrian ÖBB network today. Strikingly, the number of abandoned railway crossings saw a significant leap to 42 in 2022 from an annual average of 25, effectively living up to the principle that "The safest railway crossing is the one that does not exist."
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Despite the remarkable progress, railway crossing accidents remain a concern, with 66 accidents reported last year in Austria. These incidents led to 12 fatalities and 25 injured individuals. Disturbingly, the root cause of 99% of these accidents can be traced back to driver inattention. Daily commuters especially fall prey to these accidents, their familiarity with the routine blinding them to potential dangers. Undeniably, trains, limited by their inability to swerve or halt abruptly, pose a severe risk to careless road users who disregard stop signs or traffic lights at railway crossings.
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To further bolster road user safety, ÖBB has adopted a multifaceted strategy. This involves the continued abandonment of railway crossings, improving technical protections, enhancing public awareness of possible dangers, and enforcing red-light adherence at crossings. With red-light monitoring systems now installed at 100 locations across Austria, the organization is set to ensure that violations at crossings do not go unnoticed, moving Austria one step closer to a safer railway network.
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