Public open level crossings — infrastructure programs
There are approximately 1660 public level crossings on the entire Queensland rail network. Of this 1305 public open level crossings are on the non-commercial rail network. All open level crossings in Queensland have some form of active or passive protection. Passive protection includes warning signs and road markings. Active protection includes flashing lights and boom gates.
Commonwealth Government — Boom Gates for Rail Crossings Program
As part of the Federal Government’s recent ‘Nation Building — Economic Stimulus Plan’, Queensland has been allocated A$42.74 million for the ‘Boom Gates for Rail Crossings Program’. The entire national allocation for the program is A$150 million.
QR Limited, in association with the Department of Transport and Main Roads has developed a A$42.74 million program consisting of 66 priority public open level crossing projects. The program focuses on the delivery of boom gates however the upgrade may also include other forms of active and passive protection.
The selection process considered all public level crossings and was based on accident and incident history, near-miss data, as well as local knowledge of the level crossings.
Upgrade works to the first eight of these open level crossings have been completed as at 30 June 2009.
The completed upgrades include:
- Ellis Road, Bellenden Ker
- Schilling Lane, Calliope
- Hencamp Creek Road, Rollingstone
- Toomulla Beach Road, Toomulla
- Edgewood Drive, Emerald
- Bluewater Drive, Bluewater
- Toolakea Beach Road, Bluewater
- Maher Road, Gordonvale
Each open level crossing completed has now been upgraded from passive controls to active controls in the form of boom gates and flashing lights.
The other 58 public open level crossings identified for priority upgrade are due for completion by the end of June 2010.
The program is being undertaken by QR Network Pty Ltd through its alliance partnerships Aspect3 and Synergy.
The program is estimated to support approximately 167 jobs per annum over the two years of the program via direct and indirect employment.
Preliminary design for all level crossings is 90 per cent complete as at 30 June 2009, with the balance to be completed by 31 July 2009.
For a full list of the public open level crossings being enhanced under this initiative and details of their progress, please see the table below:
Please note that this program is subject to change.
Boom Gates for Rail Crossings Program June Report (PDF)
Alternatively you may refer to the Nation Building Program* website.
Transport Services Contract II
Through the Open Level Crossing Protection Strategy, funded by the state government via the Transport Services Contract (Rail Infrastructure) or (TSC) (RI)), QR Network Pty Ltd is implementing a program of safety assessments and improvements for all public open level crossings on the non-commercial rail network.
The program commenced under the Transport Service Contract (Rail Infrastructure) in 1999 with A$13.8 million spent on the program up to and including June 2006. This program has been extended in the renewed Transport Service Contract (Rail Infrastructure) for the period July 2006-June 2013 with an additional funding commitment of approximately A$17 million.
Under the funding arrangements allocated to the Open Level Crossing Protection Strategy, all 1305 public level crossings on the non-commercial network have been risk assessed using the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM). This model is the national standard for assessing open level crossings across Australia and New Zealand.
A total of 1200 level crossing safety upgrades to comply with risk assessments were completed to the end of May 2009. This represents 92 per cent of the non commercial network and arrangements are in place to complete the remainder of the crossings.
The reported expenditure for rail crossing upgrade works undertaken under the current Transport Service Contract (Rail Infrastructure) to the end of May 2009 is A$8.187 million.
For more information, please refer to the Transport Service Contract (Rail Infrastructure) webpage.
QR Task Force
The QR Level Crossing Task Force was formed by QR to consider level crossing safety risks in North Queensland following the tragic level crossing accident near Cardwell in late November 2008 in which two train drivers died.
The task force includes safety and operational experts, train drivers and rail unions. Eight priority level crossings have been identified within North Queensland to receive enhancements under a A$10 million funding package to be commissioned by the end of January 2010. The eight crossings identified for enhancements are:
- Wainai Road — Farleigh
- Bruce Highway — Big Red, Bowen
- Bruce Highway — Brandon
- Bruce Highway — Rungoo
- Bruce Highway — Conn
- Bruce Highway — Cardwell
- Aerodrome Road — Mudoo and
- Garradunga Road — Garradunga.
Each of the eight crossings has current controls in place that are in accordance with the guidelines of the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model, however the additional treatments will further enhance the safety of QR Limited train drivers and the public at these locations.
*The content found by using this link is not created, controlled or approved by this department. No responsibility is taken for the consequences of viewing content on this site. This link will load into a new window.
**While this department has taken every possible precaution with the creation of these files, they are downloaded and used at your own risk. Adobe Reader is needed to open and print Portable Document Format (PDF) files and is free to download from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Various tools to enable access to these files for people using a screen reader can be found at http://access.adobe.com. Further information is available from the "Help with downloading, reading and printing PDF".
Last updated 05 November 2009
Other languages