Re: [NSW] Wagga victim's mother's letter to SMH

["Paul Jones" <dj_wiseguy2_nospam@yahoo.com>]

I agree. In local towns where trains are going slowly through a yard or
whatever it *Should* be adequate to have only lights and bells. A boom gate
would be nice, but there is only so much money to go around. At places like
Gregory it is sheer stupidity to not have boom gates when the trains are
going so fast. Trains can't be expected to stop and wait at crossings for
traffic to clear. It is the drivers responsibility to stop and check for
trains. Personally, I always come to an almost complete stop at crossings
with no boom gates, firstly because I know first hand what happens when you
don't (I knew the people in the Vineyard accident a few years ago...), and
secondly because I'm a gunzel.... If there's a train there I'd like to know
what it is and where it's going...


--
Paul Jones
http://pj_rail.tripod.com
icq: 4499597

"Maurie Daly" <mauried@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
3aee92c3.38138133@can-news.tpg.com.au">news:3aee92c3.38138133@can-news.tpg.com.au...
> On Tue, 1 May 2001 19:20:53 +1000, "Chris Downs"
> <cvdowns@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>
> >This letter published in today's Sydney Morning Herald is worth a read
(copied
> >in full below).  It was written by the mother of one of the 5 dead boy's
from
> >the Gerogery XPT/car collision.  Very sad but it also clearly shows
emotion
> >overruling reason on safety (hard to blame the mother though, grief for
her
> >only son).  Absolutely no responsibility allocated to the car driver
however
> >and I'm sure it'll hit a sympathetic community nerve.
> >
> >Chris
>
> Stuff snipped.
> Yes its understandable the emotion that is called into play when
> accidents like these happen.
> There is though , at least in NSW a complete lack of standardization
> about which crossings get boom gates, flashing lights , stop signs
> etc.
> Indeed I am unaware of any sets of rules or standards which define
> what levels of protection a crossing should get .
>
> A classic example of total stupidity are the "Nubba Gates"
> For those who dont know where Nubba is , its because it isnt .
> Nubba used to be a tiny railway station half way between Wallandbeen
> and Demondrille .and there is a very narrow country road that crosses
> the line at Nubba which effectively goes nowhere.
> It simply degenerates into a dirt track , but it has boom barriers .
> The only example I know of in Australia where a dirt road crossing a
> railway line has boom barriers .
>
> Jusr down the road , where the Olympic Highway crosses the main line
> to Parkes , we have hand operated gates , which ar AFAIK the last set
> of hand operated gates on a main line in NSW, (maybe in all
> Australia.)
>
> In order to solve the emotive arguments like the above , a set of
> standards are needed which define what types of protection are
> required  for rail / road crossings , otherwise haphazard decisions
> will continue to be made.
>
> MD
>