Level crossings
There are around 5,493 level crossings on Great Britain’s railway where roads and paths cross the tracks. Accidents at level crossings account for about 6% of the total mainline system risk
In 2023/24, despite the lowest level over the past five years, there was sadly still a fatality at a level crossing. The incident involved a person on a moped being struck by a train. It happened at a manually controlled barrier crossing monitored by CCTV.
Including this event, there were seven cases of trains striking road vehicles or road vehicles striking trains at level crossings. That is the highest number over the past five years. There continues to be a rise in pedestrian near misses at level crossings since 2018/19, with 426 reported in 2023/24.
The majority occur at passive level crossings. This aligns with the trend in incorrect usage of level crossings, a category which is dominated by pedestrians crossing when it is not safe to cross. As with trespass and other public behaviour related events it is difficult to identify causes of this increase. But it could be linked to wider societal changes.
In 2024 RSSB published a level crossing data hub. This allows users to explore accidents and incidents at level crossings in more detail. The data hub provides industry with up-to-date data, allowing members to draw key insights and make data driven decisions to reduce risk.
