The situational picture examines the safety of level crossings. The data are primarily updated once a year. The information is produced by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.
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In 2023, there were 14 level crossing accidents, which is one less than in 2022. This marked the lowest annual number of level crossing accidents in the monitoring history of over 70 years. Most of the level crossing accidents in 2023 (n = 13) took place on the state-owned railway network and one on a privately owned rail. The accident on private sidings only caused material damage. Of the level crossing accidents on the state-owned railway network, 11 resulted in personal injuries and two caused only material damage. With regard to the consequences of level crossing accidents, 2023 was worse than in the previous year, as three people died in the accidents (cf. one person in 2022). In addition, three people were seriously injured.
The annual number of level crossing accidents shows a declining trend over the long term. Despite the declining trend in the number of level crossing accidents over the long term, they still constitute one of the greatest safety issues in the Finnish railway system. As in the previous year, less than one third of significant railway accidents were level crossing accidents in 2023.
Six of the level crossing accidents in 2023 were classified as significant railway accidents due to the personal injuries they caused: three people died and three were seriously injured in the level crossing accidents. One of the accidents that led to a serious injury occurred at a crossing with automatic half barriers (the warning system was out of operation at the time of the accident) and the rest of the significant level crossing accidents took place at passive level crossings. Two of the six people killed and seriously injured in level crossing accidents were riding a bicycle and the others were in a car or a van.
The railway infrastructure manager, i.e. the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, plays a key role in improving the safety of level crossings. There is an ongoing level crossing removal and improvement programme to improve the safety of level crossings, and other projects and track maintenance measures are also used to improve the safety of level crossings. According to the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, in 2023, 30 level crossings were removed, the safety of 15 level crossings was improved, and warning systems were added to three level crossings. In addition to the above, in 2023, the ongoing measures to improve safety at level crossings included a survey on the status of level crossings (investigating the level crossings to be included in future improvement measures), several projects to set guidelines (e.g. level crossing principles and the use and selection of level crossing superstructures) and a three-year level crossing campaign in cooperation with several operators.
For private sidings, improving safety at level crossings is the responsibility of the infrastructure managers of these sidings. Level crossings on private sidings are mainly located in industrial plants and in ports. While access to these areas is typically restricted, incidents and accidents related to level crossings occur fairly frequently and have been identified as one of the key safety risks associated with the activities. Private siding managers have made efforts to improve the safety of level crossings, for example by including related information in the safety orientation of employees and by installing STOP signs, level crossing systems or various sound and/or light warning devices at level crossings in their tracks. In addition, at some sites, level crossings have been monitored using cameras, and the resulting observations may have been used to change the traffic arrangements in the area to reduce the need for passing the level crossing (e.g. relocation of functions or restriction of movement).