- There are approximately 23,000 public
railway crossings in Canada, of which 30 per cent have
flashing lights or flashing lights and gates. Fifty per cent
of all crossing collisions occur at crossings with such signals,
which are those exposed to the highest level of highway and
rail traffic.
- Except where there is a municipal
ban on whistling, trains are required to sound their
whistles for at least 400 metres before entering a public level
crossing. At crossings equipped with a warning signs or crossbucks,
after a visual check, the train whistle is the best warning
available to indicate an approaching train.
- The speed of a train over
a highway/railway crossing depends on several factors including
the volume of rail traffic, track curvature, sight lines etc.
On high-speed lines, freight trains can pass over a crossing
at 105 km/h and passenger trains at 162 km/h.
- If every public crossing
in the country were to be equipped with flashing lights the
cost would exceed $2 billion.
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