Crossing safety demands investment

Editorial:

Last Friday’s chilling incident at the Woy Woy railway level crossing, where a train collided with a car, starkly highlights the ongoing risks associated with railway level crossings on the Central Coast.

Miraculously, no injuries were reported in this harrowing encounter, but it serves as a potent reminder of the inherent dangers these crossings pose to both road users and rail passengers.

With three such crossings across the region, located at Woy Woy, Koolewong and Warnervale, questions are rightfully being raised about their safety and the measures in place to prevent such accidents.

Transport for NSW acknowledges the inherent danger of these crossings, but as our community continues to grow and traffic increases, particularly now that the State Government intends to accelerate housing development around railway stations, the potential for accidents escalates.

Railway level crossings, by their very nature, are a relic of past times when traffic was lighter and less frequent.

In today’s fast-paced world, they present an anomaly in what should be a seamless and safe transport network.

The incident at Woy Woy signals that relying on road users’ vigilance and standard safety measures may not be enough.

Ironically improvements to this rail crossing were campaigned for, politically committed and announced back in 2011 by then State Liberal Member for Gosford Chris Holstein, though the commitment was subsequently dumped by the Liberal/National State Government citing cost blowouts, much to Holstein’s displeasure.

Investment in upgrading the crossing at Woy Woy was a campaign issue again in the 2019 state election for Labor MPs David Harris (Wyong) and Leisl Tesch (Gosford), though so far has come to nothing.

Solutions such as creating an overpass or underpass to eliminate the direct conflict between road and rail traffic would drastically reduce the risk of accidents.

While costly, the price of such infrastructure pales in comparison to lengthy delays on the busiest railway corridor in Australia, such as were experienced on April 19, and the ongoing potential cost in human life.

As always search CCN archives online to get a long comprehensive list of published articles about this issue.

Simply go to – coastcommunitynews.com.au/search

David Abrahams – Managing Editor