Michael McGuire: We must fix Adelaide’s dangerous rail crossings

Trains have hit three people in two months in Adelaide, killing one and injuring two, writes Michael McGuire. So why aren’t we making our rail crossings safe?

It’s a story that has become all too familiar in recent months. Another pedestrian has been struck while attempting to cross the tracks at a railway level crossing in Adelaide.

On Sunday, an 81-year-old-man was struck by a train at Ovingham railway station and taken to hospital in a critical condition. It’s still not entirely clear what happened but police confirmed the accident happened at a pedestrian crossing.

Accidents can happen but this is the third such collision at a level crossing in only the past two months.

In May, a 62-year-old Pennington woman was killed when she was struck by a train at a crossing near Alberton railway station. Last month, a 64-year-old cyclist was hit by a train while using the pedestrian crossing near the North Adelaide station.

Police at the Ovingham railway station, after an elderly man was struck by a train at the level crossing on Sunday. Picture: 7NEWS

And these incidents where people are killed or seriously injured are going to keep happening because railway crossings for pedestrians in South Australia are inherently unsafe.

It’s telling that these type of accidents don’t tend to occur in other cities such as Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane which have “active protected crossings’’. These are crossings that physically do not let you enter the tracks when trains are approaching.

There are some of these in the Adelaide network but far from enough and there does not appear to be a comprehensive plan to address this situation. Too many crossings are dangerous and unprotected from fast-moving passenger and freight trains.

Instead, in Adelaide level crossings are too often just mazes, which rarely have necessary active warning features such as lights, gates and bells. The onus is on the pedestrian to look out for trains.

Maybe you think that is fair enough, that a large train should be an easy enough thing to spot. But there are also level crossings in Adelaide where trains hurtle through at 110km/h, a speed where you might not get a lot of warning. New electric trains are also quieter than the old diesels.

And sightlines are often not that good at crossings. They can be on a bend. And if you have vision or hearing problems, detecting an approaching train may not be that easy. Likewise if you are in a wheelchair or even a cyclist.

Two of the three recent accidents happened on the recently reopened Gawler line. As part of the long-running Gawler rail electrification project, a number of crossings at dangerous locations were upgraded with those “active’’ crossing features. However, many were not finished in time for the reopening of the line, raising the question of whether it was opened before it was ready.

After the cyclist was struck at North Adelaide, Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis conceded the “gates weren’t activated’’. There are 13 crossings on the Gawler line that are being upgraded with gates that automatically close when trains are approaching, but they are currently in “passive” mode.

The pedestrian crossing at North Adelaide train station, where a cyclist was hit by a train

The Transport Department says signalling work is ongoing and the new gates will be operational by early next year. It’s a bit like opening a new traffic intersection, installing all the traffic lights, and not turning them on.

Even worse, these crossings appear to be operational physical crossings that open and shut and have warning mechanisms. However, they are not actually working, which possibly lulls people into a false sense of security and then they attempt crossings that are unsafe.

There are 89 train stations in metropolitan Adelaide. Most of them would have at least one level crossing associated with it. That’s a lot of places where people can put themselves in dangerous situations.

But there appears to be no comprehensive plan to deal with the problem. The state budget allocated $1.5 million to install an activated crossing at the West Croydon station, between Days Terrace and Euston Terrace. It’s near Kilkenny Primary School, presumably for the obvious reason that it’s not safe for little kids to be wandering around near train tracks. Coincidentally, it’s also in the electorate of Premier Peter Malinauskas.

So, we have West Croydon, some crossings on the Gawler line, plus a few extras at new developments such as Tonsley, Bowden and Oaklands. But it’s all very piecemeal at the moment.

People enjoy a free train ride on the newly opened Gawler line at Gawler train station. Picture: Emma Brasier

What is needed is an overarching plan that deals with the most dangerous crossings and works out from there. If the money budgeted for West Croydon is indicative, it’s going to cost tens of millions of dollars. But surely, it’s also possible to install automatic barriers at some stations at less than $1.5 million a pop?

It might costs a few tens of millions of dollars but that is a cheap price to pay to avoid more death and carnage on our rail lines. And even if we step away from the immediate damage done to those killed and injured, there is also a wider concern.

After Sunday’s accident, the Gawler line was closed for several hours as the investigation started. It was the same after North Adelaide. Closing the line inconveniences thousands of passengers at a time when the state is encouraging to use public transport more often.

This is an issue whose roots lie with successive government over many decades. The new state Labor government should finally fix it.