Problem

South East Queensland’s Citytrain network includes 65 level crossings. Most of these level crossings are in urban environments, which can lead to congestion and safety issues.

Level crossings provide important connectivity for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians across train lines, but also result in increased road congestion, safety risks and disruption to local accessibility and movement.

Pedestrian and vehicle collisions and boom strike crashes can result in injuries or fatalities, as well as property damage and delays on the network.

There are over 1,200 daily rail services on the Citytrain network, and over 450,000 vehicles that travel through a level crossing on an average weekday in South East Queensland. This results in delays from boom gate closures.

Level crossings also create safety risks through near‑misses.

Level crossings can create barriers between different parts of a community and impact on local amenity.

Proposal

The proposal could be addressed through a network-wide program to identify, prioritise and treat level crossings in South East Queensland. This would improve network efficiency, safety, and amenity for communities.

The program should consider a wide range of options to remove level crossings or minimise their impacts.

This could include traffic restrictions, road closures, demand management, removing level crossings, and potentially grade separations where warranted.

Next steps

Proponent to develop potential investment options (Stage 2 of Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework).