Don Mahoney believes it is only a matter of time before negligence results in devastation as motorists continue to gamble their safety at the level crossing on Charles Street.
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The Wellington resident, who lives 14 metres from the rail line, says he witnesses motorists disregard the ‘stop’ signs daily and in the last six weeks alone has noted three near-miss incidents.
Mr Mahoney’s concern stems so deep he is calling on John Holland Rail to take action, be it the installation of boom gates, flashing lights, or to close the crossing completely.
“Sixty per cent of vehicles I see go through here don’t stop at all, some virtually don’t even slow down and at 40km/h or more,” he said.
“My concern is that if there’s an accident at this level crossing it wouldn’t take much for a carriage to jack-knife and hit one of these houses.”
Mr Mahoney recalls witnessing two incidents, the third he said came from John Holland Rail workers who witnessed a car have a close shave with a train around three weeks ago.
“A bit over a month ago the XPT was frantically blowing its horn about 100 out from the crossing,” he said.
“The car wasn’t stopping, the train pulled up and obviously the driver was shaken – he stopped for all but of five minutes I’d say composing himself.
“Then Sunday a fortnight ago the XPT heading toward Dubbo frantically held the horn and stopped again – a girl had just come off the track and was walking up the corridor. The driver was obviously frightened.”
“When you have three incidents like that in less than six weeks it’s a worry.”
A spokesperson for John Holland Rail said the safety of motorists is paramount and failing to stop at a level crossing can have devastating consequences for drivers and pedestrians, their families and for train drivers.
“Safety is our number one priority and while these level crossings meet current engineering standards, we are assessing whether the Charles Street crossing should be closed to vehicle access and the possibility of installing boom gates and lights at the Samuel Street crossing,” the spokesperson said.
“A decision on these proposals will be made later this year.”
According to John Holland Rail 112 trains have passed through Wellington between January 15, 2018 and February 15. This included 54 freight trains and 58 passenger services.
A passenger train takes around 250 metres, or two-and-a-half football fields, to come to a stop, while a freight train takes around 2 kilometres to stop. Rail speeds through Wellington reach up to 110km/h for both passenger and freight trains.
