From New Year to September 1, there have been 485 unwanted incidents at level crossings with road safety systems. By comparison, there were 496 near misses over the past year. In other words, Bane NOR recorded a strong improvement, and was concerned about negative developments:

– This is an incident where pedestrians and motorists do not respect red lights and barriers. They go through transitions even if the barriers are down, or on their way down. This is illegal and can be fatal. Now we ask people to respect the rules, to ensure life and health, said Sverre Kjenne, executive director of Bane NOR.

27 stuck between the barriers

Most incidents involve soft road users; people cycling or walking at a red light. About a quarter (131 of near misses) involve drivers driving illegally. Here the driver does not follow a red light, and tries to cross while the barrier is going down.

In some cases, the driver saw people running over level crossings, where there was a short barrier. In 27 cases, riders were caught between barriers, with trains blaring toward them.

– Unfortunately, the willingness to take risks seems to be increasing, as it’s mostly about choices made by individuals. The near-miss occurred at a level crossing with safety equipment clearly warning when the train was coming, Kjenne said.

Don’t hesitate for a moment

The executive director emphasizes that if you are stuck at a level crossing, you should not hesitate for a moment:

– Barriers are designed to break if you cross them. If something like this happens, you step on the gas, he said.

On average, one person dies after an accident at a level crossing in Norway every year.

– Looks like people don’t take this seriously. Trains can arrive at high speeds, but even at lower speeds, trains have major problems stopping for people and cars at crossings. The train couldn’t turn and took a long time to slow down, Kjenne explained.

It went without saying that the train weighing several hundred tons caused great damage, even at low speeds, no matter what hit it.

FACT – Examples of incidents at level crossings:

Two adults in strollers crossed the crossing while the barrier was lowered. It was only a matter of time before they managed to push the pram under one of the barriers and made it through.

A woman in a pram was crossing a level crossing when the train came running. The explosion went down. Luckily, he managed to get on the train.

Three boys about 12 years old went under the barrier on bicycles. Seconds earlier, the driver honked his horn to warn the children. The boys ignored the train and “played” in the middle of the tracks while several others waited behind the barrier. The train driver applies the emergency brake and thus reduces its speed. Two children managed to get off the track. The latter only managed to move closer to the barrier, and stood on the inside of the level crossing as the train passed by – a few centimeters away.

A car is between the barriers when a train comes running. Fortunately, the train remained at a low speed and managed to stop some distance away from the car. The train driver resolved the situation unscathed.

FACT – Norwegian trains are among the safest in Europe

Trains in Norway are the second safest in Europe, according to a recent report from EU railway agency ERA (Report on Rail Safety and Interoperability in EU 2022).

Only the United Kingdom is inferior to Norway, measured in the number of fatal accidents per million train kilometers traveled in 2018-2020. In terms of accidents with fatalities and injuries at level crossings, Norwegian railways are in eighth place.

In recent years, there has been an average of one fatal accident a year at Norwegian level crossings.

Bane NOR is working continuously to improve security. We do this, among other things, by removing level crossings and securing those that have few security measures.

We also work to create attitudes towards children and adults. Bane NOR is in touch with local communities, schools and nurseries. We talk about topics in the media and do campaigns big and small. Last year we launched the website www.banorama.no, with a special focus on children and youth.

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