South East Queensland level crossings congestion and safety


South East Queensland’s City train 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 City train 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. They can also create barriers between different parts of a community and impact on local amenity.
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.
Proponent to identify and analyse potential investment options (Stage 2 of Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework).
Refer to Infrastructure Glossary for terms and definitions.