Railway level crossings

By the end of this topic you can

• You can recognise active and passive level crossings.
• You can stop and wait correctly when lights flash or booms come down.
• You can cross only when you can clear the tracks completely.
• You can deal with a car stalling on a crossing.

What you need to know and understand

• When red lights flash or boom gates are down or moving, you must stop and wait until the lights stop and the booms are fully up.
• At a stop sign at a crossing, stop completely, look both ways, and only cross when no train is coming.
• At a give way sign, slow down, be ready to stop, and give way to any train.
• Do not enter a crossing unless there is room to drive completely clear of it on the other side.
• You must not stop on a level crossing, or within 20 metres either side of it, unless a specific exception in the road rules applies.
• After one train passes, another may be coming, sometimes from the other direction.

Active and passive crossings

At passive crossings, you must do all the work of checking for trains, so slow down early, turn off loud music and look carefully both ways.

• Active crossings: flashing red lights, bells, and often boom gates that come down when a train approaches.
• Passive crossings: only signs, such as stop or give way, with no lights; common in rural areas.
• Warning signs on approach: a railway crossing sign and sometimes 'railway crossing ahead' or flashing lights ahead signs.

Crossing safely

1. Slow down as you approach and check the signals and signs.
2. Stop if the lights are flashing, booms are moving, a stop sign applies or a train is coming.
3. Look and listen both ways along the line.
4. Check there is space for your whole vehicle beyond the tracks.
5. Cross without stopping and without changing gears on the crossing.

If your car stalls on the tracks

Get everyone out immediately and move well away from the tracks and off the crossing. Then call the emergency number on the sign at the crossing, or 000. Never stay in the car trying to restart it if a train could be coming.

Common mistakes

• Driving around boom gates or through flashing lights because no train is visible.
• Following a car onto the crossing when there is no room on the far side.
• Rolling through a stop sign at a quiet country crossing.
• Moving off as soon as one train passes, without checking for a second train.

Test yourself: Railway level crossings

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Railway Level Crossing Rules in Australia