A very impressive international event focusing on level crossing safety took place in June at the National Railway Museum in York, England. This was the 17th International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD).
A remarkable 220 dedicated passionate level crossing experts met from 22 countries, including Japan, Argentina, Canada, USA, plus many European nations. The attendees included road and rail safety professionals, national safety authorities, behavioural scientists, academics, insurance experts, and railway safety equipment manufacturers – all with the common aim of improving road and rail level safety.
ILCAD is the International Union of Railways’ (UIC) awareness campaign day for level crossing safety. Since it was instigated in 2009, the campaign has been supported by railway communities from around the world. Each year, a partner country hosts ILCAD and participants share good practice and projects to increase level crossing safety and contribute to lowering the risk and the number of incidents and casualties.
To illustrate the international scope of ILCAD, during the last 17 years it has been held in countries including France, Turkey, Latvia, Canada, USA, Poland, and Argentina. This year, with 2025 being the 200th anniversary of the very first passenger railway in the world, ILCAD was held in Great Britain. The event in York was jointly hosted by Network Rail and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), the day after TRESPAD, the UIC safety campaign on trespass prevention.
The presentations were held in the railway museum in front of a number of train exhibits, including LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard. On 3 July 1938, Mallard broke the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126mph (203km/h), which still stands today – a reminder that trains have always been fast and they can’t stop quickly for anyone on a level crossing.
Allan Spence, chair of the Global Level Crossing Network, and Isabelle Fonverne, senior advisor for safety at the UIC opened the day. The emphasis on ILCAD 2025 was ‘Helping people make good decisions’ with the slogan ‘Safe decisions – every time’. According to UIC estimates, there are more than half a million level crossings in the world, with approximately 40% in the USA and 20% in the EU plus Great Britain. In the USA alone it was reported that there is a level crossing incident every three hours and, in 2023, 33 countries reported an average of 10 casualties per week at level crossings.
During the day in York, the audience received excellent and insightful presentations covering topics such as ergonomics, risk assessment, technical solutions, education, public awareness, and cross-sector collaboration to improve level crossing safety.
Great Britain
Network Rail’s Richard Bye presented ‘Decisions, Decisions, Decisions’ which focused on human factors. The risk at level crossings has reduced due to technology, signage, and awareness campaigns. However, unsafe and non-compliant actions continue. Understanding human behaviour at and near to level crossings is therefore a key component in accident prevention. Richard explained the need for a human-centred risk-based approach to the management of level crossing safety, and he covered how people make decisions when using level crossings.
Greg Morse of RSSB covered ‘Learning from (level crossing) history in Great Britain’. In this powerful presentation Greg explained the development of railway signalling and operation, and how it has improved following incidents. He also covered why things went wrong at a number of level crossing incidents. While explaining a tragic incident involving the loss of young lives at a level crossing, Greg did not refer to this incident by the name of the crossing, as many others had, but he used the names of the people involved. This brought home the importance of ICLAD and that improving level crossing safety is not just about numbers and targets, and also that every level crossing incident can have a devastating impact on families and everyone involved.
Daniel Fisk and Neil Huston from Network Rail explained the role of the Network Rail level crossing managers. Level crossings are inspected by the managers at a frequency based on the level of risk of the crossing. This inspection frequency typically ranges from every seven weeks to every 12 months. During the inspections, the level crossing managers check for any defects at the crossing that may pose a risk to users, trains, or vehicles. Where faults or defects are minimal (vegetation or sign cleaning) they may be resolved by the managers themselves immediately, or they will raise the defects for repair by the maintenance teams. The level crossing managers act as ‘owner’ of the crossings, undertaking risk assessments, and liaise and communicate with local users of the crossings, such as schools.
The view of level crossing risk from an insurance perspective was covered by Craig McLaughlin and Phil Strickland from Royal & SunAlliance Ltd, who questioned why level crossing barriers are painted the colours they are? Is there any correlation between incidents and crossing signage? Is there a correlation between incidents and types of crossings? Emergency services tend to use blue and red lights, so why are different colours used at a level crossings? And finally, why do people risk their lives?
France
Elise Grison of Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) also covered the importance of human factors with level crossings, as she explained a French collaborative project involving cognitive science and engineering. Pedestrian Tracks Crossings (PTCs) are installed in around 900 locations in France. Six hundred of these are equipped with red flashing pictograms to warn users that a train is coming, which is activated when a train is approaching. Incidents still happen though, and the main reason is behavioural, with 50% occurring where the situation / information has not been understood or taken into account with the safety system misinterpreted, or users feel that trains will come to a stop in time. The other 50% are where the safety instructions have not been seen or passengers did not pay attention.
A team of industrial partners and academics are developing a new PTC to address these issues. A cognitive approach is being used to develop a model of human behaviour at PTCs, based on a scientific method. This is developing new behavioural indicators for the evaluation of safety systems, and to understand and characterise the impact of risk factors on behaviours. The project is to integrate behaviour to help decision makers in the selection of the right technology.
The objectives of the project are to understand human behaviour (cognition and biomechanics) when using a PTC. To develop and test new safety systems inspired by human understanding and objectively measure their ability to reduce risky behaviours and the number of incidents. The project started in January 2023 and is planned to complete mid-2026.
Portugal
José Tomé (pictured left), coordinator for risk reduction at level crossings at Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP Portugal) discussed ‘Pillars and strategic objectives of the IP Plan (2024-2030) to reduce incidents at level crossings’. He explained that there had been a large reduction in level crossing incidents in Portugal over the years, due to improvements such as crossing closures and new technology, but that the improvement in safety had “flatlined” and had slightly increased over the last year, so more needs to be done.
The Euro 316M plan to improve level crossing safety includes further crossing closures with prioritisation based on risks – including, speed, traffic type, number of lines, and involving local authorities. Technical upgrades will include equipping all level crossings with active protection and to introduce measures to deter ‘risky’ behaviour. The awareness of level crossing risk will include introducing the topic in schools, investing in driver training, and the launch of Campaign Pare, Escute, Ole (Stop, Listen, Look). Enforcement will include technological solutions to detect infringements, along with involving police forces to punish infringements. A specific emergency phone number for each level crossing will also be provided that will automatically identify the location of the crossing when used.
United States
Starr Kidda and Francesco Bedini Jacobini (pictured below) of the Federal Railroad Administration shared insights on level crossings in the US. The country’s rail network is huge with 225,000 route kilometres of track and 203,859 ‘at-grade’ railroad crossings. Active level crossings with gates, bells, and/or flashing lights make up 47% of all crossings, and the other 43% are passive level crossings equipped with signs and markings but no active warning devices. Over the last 40 years the number of level crossings in the US has reduced and more level crossings have been made active, however over the last 10 years the number of casualties at level crossings has remained broadly the same. Starr and Francesca explained the extensive measures underway titled ‘Helping People Make Good Decisions’ and the Community-Based Rail Safety Improvements across the US.
These are focused on the CARE Model:
- Community: Engage stakeholders
- Analysis: Identify and analyse data
- Response: Determine responses that address the challenges
- Evaluation: Track the effectiveness of solutions
They also explained a number of initiatives underway. One is an Enhanced Emergency Notification System (ENS) sign at level crossings so that the railway company can be notified of any level crossing incident. An incident which may have benefited from this initiative was when a light aircraft had come down on a level crossing. While the public had called the emergency services, nobody had told the railway company and a train approaching the crossing was not halted.
Another US level crossing initiative is the use of LiDAR technology for the risk assessment and identification of high-profile grade crossings. Much survey work has been completed, and the next steps will involve a new web portal with 3D scans and parameters of crossings including vertical profile, angles, and sight distances, which will lead to a new design standard.
Rachel Maleh & Wende Corcoran OF Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) gave a powerful presentation focusing on its strategies for public engagement and awareness at level crossings. OLI is a nonprofit organisation and recognised leader of rail safety education in the US. Since 1972 it has been committed to preventing collisions, injuries, and fatalities on and around railways and level crossings, with the support of public education programmes across the US.
OLI’s priority is to educate people on how to be safe around railway level crossings, and its impressive Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and promotional resources have been created to increase visibility and awareness about rail safety.
Italy
Andrea Biava and Francesco Centola of Italy’s National Agency for the Safety of Railways and Road and Motorway Infrastructures (ANSFISA) reported on its national level crossing inspection campaigns. They opened their presentation with a comparison between level crossing risk in Italy and other countries. In the EU there are 50 deaths involving level crossings per 100 million inhabitants, with eight deaths per 100 million inhabitants in Italy and, for example, one death per 100 million inhabitants in the UK. However, road transport is even more hazardous, and they explained ANSFISA’s comprehensive on-site inspection campaign on 80 level crossings involving both national and regional railway networks.
The campaign involves gathering and analysing data on railway incidents at level crossings, and the implementation and use of checklists to verify the actions of the infrastructure manager, measurement of functional parameters, onboard cab visits, and document checks. The inspections of roads involves travelling the routes near to the level crossings to check maintenance and other safety-related aspects.
Belgium
Annelies De Keyser & Vincent Godeau of Infrabel covered its emergency number campaign and new outreach approach in Belgian ports. They explained that every three years a survey of 1,000 Belgians aged over 16 is undertaken to assess their behaviour at level crossings. The latest survey made a disturbing conclusion. Forty-eight percent said they would walk across a railway track because it is shorter (saving time) or that they believe it’s not dangerous. Forty-one percent said they would cross a closed level crossing because they are distracted or mistaken, or because they believe it’s not dangerous. This and other data very much supports the need for action to reduce level crossing risk in Belgium and this will involve prevention, awareness, and enforcement.
One initiative is to introduce a new national emergency number. This allows road users to directly call the Infrabel control centre in the event of a dangerous situation at a level crossing. The new number is 1711, as Belgium has several emergency numbers all starting with 17. A comprehensive public awareness campaign has been launched, which has included a new sticker with the emergency number for all level crossings. From mid-October 2024 to mid-January 2025, Infrabel says that 27 potential collisions with trains were avoided, and 15 of the 1711 calls required the stopping of trains via a GSM-R emergency call. The reasons included a vehicle failing on a crossing, a suicide attempt, a road accident, trespassing, and a damaged level crossing where the barrier was hit by a car.
Each year there are several incidents in Belgium ports, resulting in damage and sometimes serious injuries. This is because ports are areas with many level crossings without barriers or lights and are used by drivers who are not familiar with Belgian level crossings. Red lights can also be ignored due to long waiting times or time pressure.
To improve safety, an awareness campaign in port areas is underway. The objective is to inform road drivers and raise the awareness of the safety rules at level crossings, as well as the risks, and the new emergency number 1711. The campaign includes providing coffee or smoothies for drivers at ports with a leaflet, a social media campaign, advertisements in fuel stations, and communicating with stakeholders such as transport and port companies.
Estonia
Tamo Vahemets from Operation Lifesaver Estonia shared insights on on its objectives as well as impactful public safety campaigns in his country. This is to increase people’s awareness of the possible dangers associated with railways, reduce the number of collisions taking place, on railways, and to reduce the number of victims and injuries on the railways. Tamo explained Estonia’s education and prevention activities, which included powerful 360-degree virtual video safety tours, interactive rail safety games, and campaigns such as ‘Let The Train Pass’, ‘Get Off The Bike’, and ‘You Are Expected Home For Christmas’.
An outstanding event
At the end of a remarkable day Allan Spence and Isabelle Fonverne thanked everyone for attending, in particular the sponsors which made the day possible including: IDS, Schweizer Electronic, Wavetrain, Kite Projects, Capgemini, Arentis, Hirsch, Alstom Group, Gmundener Fertigteile-Bodan, Altpro, and Zöllner GmbH.
Co-organisers – UIC, Network Rail, and RSSB – were also very grateful to the National Railway Museum for providing a superb venue, and said a special highlight was the opportunity to connect with British Scouts and the Samaritans, who were present at ILCAD with stands. Both work closely with Network Rail to deliver vital rail safety messaging to the public in Great Britain.
More information can be found at: www.ilcad.org
Image credit: ILCAD