Správa železnic Fitted 70 More Crossings with Barriers Last Year

In 2021, there was a further significant increase in safety at crossings of railway lines with roads. Správa železnic upgraded 186 level crossings on its network improving the level of safety at 108 of them. The trend of increasing safety is also evident in the statistics of accidents and incidents. Last year the number of fatalities in collisions at level crossing decreased by 12 compared to the previous year.

“On the one hand, the statistics show that the number of accidents and incidents at level crossings has slightly increased to a total of 151 compared to 2020, when the number was the lowest since founding of Správa železnic. On the other hand, almost a third people less died than in the previous year. The number of injured also dropped from 93 to 69,” says Jiří Svoboda, Director General of Správa železnic and adds: “Mitigation of accident consequences proves that the set trend of increasing safety at level crossings is significant and will be one of the priorities of the railway infrastructure manager in the coming years.”

The year 2021 also marked the end of level crossings protected only by warning crosses on Class 1 roads. Last of these was reconstructed with an increased safety level on the line from Čáslav to Třemošnice.

Last year Správa železnic managed to almost double the number of level crossings newly equipped with safety installation with barriers compared to the previous year. In 28 cases, these were crossings of the railway with the road secured originally by warning crosses. Sixty of these were refitted during last year's construction projects. A total of 38 level crossings on the network of Správa železnic were equipped with light and sound signals for enhanced safety. A number of others have undergone significant renovation of the technological or structural part. Správa železnic spent more than CZK 1.9 billion on their modernisation. A year earlier, the costs amounted to approximately CZK 1.5 billion and 155 level crossings were reconstructed.

The original intention to complete the modernisation of two hundred level crossings in 2021 was adversely affected, among other things, by road closure permits and the overall situation on the construction market. Ongoing projects will be completed during this year just as the realisation of other projects to increase the level of railway crossing safety will commence. However, the amount of available funding, and therefore the total number of upgraded level crossings expected for 2022, will depend on the budget of Správa železnic, which is dependent on the approved state budget.

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