Pacific National calls for national summit on level crossing safety after fatal Bindarrah crash
The country's largest rail freight operator is pushing for a national summit on level crossing safety. It follows the death of two of its workers in a collision on the border with South Australia.
Transcript
00:00 This New Year's Eve level crash has sparked mounting calls for improved safety at regional
00:07 level crossings.
00:09 "This has been an issue for a long time and like everyone involved with this tragic accident
00:13 there's been periods of anger for myself and our team as well."
00:16 Mick Warren and Kevin Baker were killed when a truck collided with the freight train they
00:21 were driving at a level crossing on the Barrier Highway. The truck driver has since been charged.
00:28 Regional freight company Pacific National, where the train drivers worked, is urging
00:33 federal and state governments and industry groups to hold a national supply chain forum
00:38 and discuss immediate actions to prevent further fatalities.
00:43 This includes awareness campaigns to improve road user behavior around freight trains and
00:48 better infrastructure.
00:50 The level crossing where the accident occurred is looked after by the federal government.
00:55 There are around 23,000 across Australia.
00:59 "It's not going to be a single solution for every level crossing. We have to assess them,
01:04 make sure that we understand the risks that are in place for every one of them and put
01:07 appropriate measures in place."
01:09 The federal government says it's already taking action. Its first budget includes just over
01:14 $180 million to improve level crossing safety in regional areas.
01:20 "We're certainly happy to engage with operators like Pacific National and of course work with
01:27 the Australian government. We already have a lot of work underway."
01:32 "We owe it to those families, the families of Mick and Kevin, to learn as much as we
01:35 can from this event."
01:37 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the New Year's Eve crash and
01:43 looking at that particular level crossing.
01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]