Assessment of the accident rate coefficient at pedestrian railway crossings

The object of the study is pedestrian railway crossings, which are specially designed pedestrian paths across railway tracks intended to ensure the safe passage of pedestrians over railway infrastructure, including areas outside of official level crossings. An analysis of statistical data found that in the first three quarters of 2024, the percentage of injuries and accidents caused by moving railway rolling stock involving unauthorized individuals increased by 12.7 % compared to 2023. This study reviews international and Ukrainian methods and models for forecasting accidents at railway crossings. The methodology for calculating the pedestrian accident rate coefficient at railway crossings – within and outside existing level crossings – has been improved. This allows for assessing accident risk based on the number of daily trains, hourly pedestrian flow volumes, technical equipment, and informational support at the railway crossing. Additionally, the methodology accounts for pedestrian speed, the layout, and the crossing profile. A comparison was made between accident rate coefficients at railway crossings with and without a pedestrian train-approach warning system. The results showed that implementing such an informational system reduces accident rates. The average reduction in accident rate coefficient due to the warning system, depending on the number of daily trains, is 3.4. When considering pedestrian flow volume with a constant number of trains, the reduction is 5.32. It was also established that increased train traffic results in a greater difference in accident rate coefficients with and without the warning system. The coefficient shows a slight upward trend at a pedestrian flow of 75 people/hour. In this case, the accident rate coefficient is 13.35 without the warning system and 10.1 with it. Multivariable calculations showed that pedestrian flow volume has the most considerable impact on safety and must be considered when designing modern pedestrian railway crossings, especially in urbanized areas, to ensure pedestrian safety

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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