Safety board slams railway crossing deaths as ‘unacceptable’

The Dutch Safety Board OVV has slammed the ‘unacceptable’ way an average of 11 people are killed in accidents on railway level crossings every year.

However, the fragmented approach and lack of focus at the infrastructure ministry are stalling efforts to improve safety at crossings, the OVV said on Thursday.

The Netherlands is the only country within the EU where so many roads cross so many railways, the OVV said. ‘This is not a good combination.’

In particular, crossings without barriers are unacceptable in these days of high speed trains and junior minister Stientje van Veldhoven should show more ambition to make changes, the OVV said.

The OVV started its investigation after three major incidents on level crossings within a few months.

A crash between a lorry and a train in Winssum left 18 people injured. Then, four months later, a father and son were killed in an accident at an unmanned level crossing. A month later, another train hit a lorry, causing major damage.