Increasing level crossing safety in urban areas - Case study City of Zagreb

Abstract

Level crossings (LC’s) are one of the most dangerous points in railway traffic with frequent accidents that result in significant material damages and almost always fatalities. When level crossings are located within highly populated urban areas, they represent an even higher risk for accidents because of increased traffic volume for both the road and rail sectors. There are currently 34 level crossings in the City of Zagreb, some of which are on the roads with the highest traffic volume in the Republic of Croatia. Accident analyses on level crossings show poor traffic culture, especially pedestrians, which are intentionally disregarding traffic rules and showing poor judgment. This paper will show the existing condition and possible improvements of identified shortcomings of observed level crossings in the City of Zagreb and it will also present the existing level crossing regulations, classification, and safety on the railway network in the Republic of Croatia.

Devising a method for improving pedestrian traffic safety when crossing railroad tracks by implementing an information system with a fixed warning time

“…In addition, the studies cited in [18] show that the construction of underground or overpasses over railroad tracks is in most cases not financially or technologically justified, especially in large cities.…”

“…Our literature analysis [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] reveals that the issues of the functioning of railroad crossings and passive methods of improving the safety of pedestrians when crossing railroad tracks are mostly studied.…”