Yesterday marked the start of Rail Safety Week, a
TrackSAFE Foundation initiative now in its 21
st year.
Each year, more than 100 organisations come together to encourage communities across Australia to stay alert around the rail network.
The campaign raises awareness of rail safety and reinforces that, regardless of where we live, we all have a role to play in staying safe on and around rail.
TrackSAFE Foundation’s 2026 campaign focusses on safety at railway crossings – “WHEN ROADS CROSS RAIL. FOLLOW THE SIGNS”.
This year the focus is on reminding road users to follow signs and road rules at railway crossings, including; stopping when red lights are flashing, stopping at boom gates, not queuing over tracks and obeying stop signs. These messages remain relevant all year round.
Collisions and near misses at railway crossings continue to pose serious risks, impacting not only rail services but most importantly the wellbeing of train drivers, rail workers, and the wider community.
Between 2016-2025 on the Australian heavy rail network there were:
- 813 fatalities and 867 injuries = an average of 168 incidents per year or 14 per month.
- 9,206 near hits at railway crossings, 4,938 with a road vehicle and 4,268 with people, and 5,755 near hits with trespassers = an average of 1,496 each year.
To support the TrackSAFE Foundation in this important mission, Arc Infrastructure and our Principal Partner, the
Constable Care Foundation (CCF), are offering Perth metro primary schools the chance to
win a free excursion to the Constable Care Safety School in Maylands and a free Constable Care “On the Road” in-person session for regional schools. This year, Arc will focus on regional schools in the South West and Goldfields, with the intention of prioritising other locations across the State in future years.
We look forward to announcing the winning schools later this week.
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