Closure call for illegal railway level crossings

Several private railway level crossings may be closed following a crash on an illegal level crossing in April.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission report into a collision on a private level crossing in Manawatu on April 27 between a train and a truck's trailer unit found the crossing was illegal and not adequately marked.

Nobody was injured in the collision but the commission recommended the crossing, about 15km north of Feilding, be closed.

It also recommended the Railways Corporation identify all other illegal private crossings and "either execute a deed of grant for each crossing that meets technical standards ... or close the crossing".

The report said the truck and trailer unit, had tried to get across the level crossing but stopped to give way to a vehicle on the road it was trying to turn into, leaving the trailer unit on the crossing.

The truck driver tried to move off the crossing once he heard the whistle from the train, which he could not see when he moved onto the crossing, but he could not move off before the trailer unit was struck.

The report said the crossing was illegal as there was no statutory record nor deed of grant.

It was unlikely it would have been legalised because northbound trains did not come into a vehicle driver's view until too close to the crossing, the report said.

Also at issue was "stacking distances" - the distance between a safe point 3m from the rail line and the nearest point from there where vehicles may need to stop.

In the Manawatu incident, the stacking distance was 11.2m between the farm gate and the 3m safe point on one side of the track, and 10.8m from the safe point to the road T-junction on the other side of the track. The truck and trailer unit was 18m long.

The report recommended NZ Railways arrange to install marking or signage 3m from all private crossings.

Railways Corporation chief executive David George accepted the safety recommendations, but said given their extent it may take some time to implement them.

- NZPA