Railway crossing safety series documents

The documents of the railway crossing safety series 2011

3.1 Policy to establish and manage railway crossing safety management plans (PN 239)

This policy sets out the overarching legislative and safety objectives and outcomes for the railway crossing safety management process.

Use this policy to:

Understand the RTA's legislative obligations and how the Railway crossing safety series 2011 meets them.
Understand the RTA's safety objectives and how the railway crossing safety management process meets them.

Plan: Establishing a railway crossing safety management plan (PN 239G)

This guideline establishes a systematic process for the creation of railway crossing safety management plans and the ongoing management of safety risks and safety management measures. This process includes protocols for a collaborative approach to safety management between the RTA, local councils and rail infrastructure managers.

Understand and assess the safety risks, hazards and hazardous events at a railway crossing.
Identify road and traffic management infrastructure assets that are under the control of the RTA at a railway crossing.
Evaluate existing safety management measures at a railway crossing.
Assess the need for additional safety management measures.
Develop a railway crossing safety management plan.
Administer, monitor and report on railway crossing safety management plans to ensure that they comply with legislative and business requirements.

3.2 Policy for identifying risks to safety at railway crossings (PN 241)

This policy provides a framework for the consistent identification of hazards and hazardous events, and complements existing road safety audit processes.

Use this policy to:

Understand how the context of a railway crossing, its area of influence, and operating environment can affect safety outcomes.

Identify: The railway crossing safety hazard checklist (PN 241G)

This document contains the Railway crossing safety hazard checklist and explains how to use it.

This guideline helps you to:

Establish the context of a railway crossing and influence on the adjacent environment.
Identify safety hazards and hazardous events at railway crossings during site inspections.

3.3 Policy for applying risk tolerance and risk assessment criteria to railway crossing safety management (PN 238)

This policy provides a reference framework for the comparison and evaluation of risks to safety in the context of similar road safety risks, and the role of risk tolerance in safety management.

Use this policy to:

Understand the role and scope of ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ principles.
Ensure risk tolerance principles and risk assessment criteria are applied consistently when assessing risks to safety, and provide a defendable methodology to risk assessment at railway crossings on State roads.

Use this guideline to:

Understand the RTA’s risk tolerance and risk assessment criteria and how they operate in the risk assessment procedure.
Apply the RTA’s risk tolerance and risk assessment criteria in the risk assessment procedure.

3.4 Policy for the application of the railway crossing cause consequence bow tie model (PN 240)

This policy, and its associated guideline assists planners to clearly define risks to safety at railway crossings, and to identify safety management measures and post incident management measures for a given risk type. This forms an integral part of the risk identification, assessment, and management of safety risks at railway crossings.

Use this policy to:

Analyse the mechanisms of crash causation at a railway crossing to ensure that the safety management measures deployed are appropriate for the types of risks present.

Evaluate: Applying the railway crossing cause consequence bow tie model (PN 240G)

This guideline serves as a reference tool to assist planners to manage risks at railway crossings. The guideline explains how to use the bow tie model to clearly define a risk, and to identify safety management measures and post-incident management measures for a given risk type.

Use this guideline to:

Analyse the mechanisms of crash causation at a railway crossing.
Select safety management measures that are appropriate for the risk and that will minimise that risk, so far as is reasonably practicable.