The annual event began with a memorial service honouring over 4,500 rail workers who have lost their lives in Australia.
Running from 5-11 August, Rail Safety Week shines a spotlight on the importance of staying safe on and around rail.
The memorial service on Monday 5 August was hosted by the TrackSAFE Foundation, Transport for NSW and NSW TrainLink at the Australian Railway Monument at Werris Creek, in northwest New South Wales, considered the state’s first railway town.
The Monument pays tribute to rail workers who have lost their lives throughout Australia’s rail history, and the special service was attended by representatives from the rail industry, government officials, unions, families and community members.
Now in its 19th year, Rail Safety Week will see more than 100 organisations representing rail, law enforcement, government and community groups across Australia highlighting how to be rail safe, every day of the year.
Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Railway Association and a member of TrackSAFE Foundation’s Board, Caroline Wilkie, said trains are a significant part of Australia’s transport network in cities and regional areas.
“As an industry, a community, and as individuals, we all must play an active role in keeping ourselves and others safe around the network,” Ms Wilkie said.
“Infrastructure upgrades and the use of new technologies help improve the safety of the network. But we also need truck and car drivers, cyclists, motorbike riders and pedestrians to be aware of tracks, look for trains, tram and light rail and follow all signposted rules.”
Accidents can occur at platforms because passengers are not staying aware of their surroundings. The TrackSAFE Foundation’s new metropolitan campaign reminds passengers to:
- Turn down distractions by taking off headphones
- Look up from their phones
- Stand behind the safety line
Rail safety messages have also been translated into Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi, Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean.
Between 2016-2023, there were an average of 83 fatalities per year, or seven per month, including 71 suspected suicides, seven trespassers, five at railway crossings.
Annually, there are almost as many attempted suicides as suicides. There are approximately 32 injuries at railway crossings or because of trespass and about 1,650 railway crossing and trespass near hits reported to the rail regulator.
Executive Director of the TrackSAFE Foundation, Heather Neil, said, “Any death or injury on the rail network is devastating – not just for the family and friends impacted but also for rail workers involved in the incident and the first responders called upon in the rescue effort.
“Fatalities, incidents and near hits on the network can cause severe and lasting trauma to the rail employees involved, and most of these incidents can be avoided,” Ms Neil said.
Image: BELL KA PANG/shutterstock.com
