A level crossing is an intersection between a railway and a road or some other type of path at the same level, as opposed to overpasses and underpasses that cross railways at a different level. Level crossings are also known by other names, depending on location and the exact nature of the crossing. For example, international names include railway crossing and railway level crossing. In the United States, names include grade crossing and railroad crossing. Other names include train crossing, road through railroad, criss-cross and the abbreviation RXR.
Number of Level Crossings
The number of level crossings are quite high in areas with extensive railways. Europe has more than 100,000, while North America has over 200,000 level crossings. The following table shows the number of level crossings for the top ten countries from 2016 to 2020:
History
The first level crossings had a flagman, who would wave a red flag or other visual indicator to clear the tracks. Gated crossings were the next development, which a signalman could close to protect the railway from crossing people and livestock. Electrical gates were introduced during the early 20th century, which served as a complete barrier against all road traffic. Automatic crossings are now the standard barrier for level crossings, now that motor vehicles have completely replaced animal-drawn vehicles. However, older barriers are still found in rural areas, especially those with low levels of technology.
Safety
Level crossings pose significant safety risks. The crossing of a railway and road creates the possibility of a motor vehicle colliding with a much heavier train. In addition, trains generally can’t stop in time to avoid a collision, even when the engineer begins braking immediately upon seeing an obstacle. A train’s long braking distance also means that it usually doesn’t stop at a level crossing, relying on vehicles and pedestrians to stop crossing the tracks instead. Despite the safety measures used by modern level crossings, about 400 people in Europe and over 300 in the US die at level crossings each year.
