Are French level crossings independent of signals?

[peteb]

I'm at Gievres in the Cher valley, France. The signal has been green for ages yet traffic continues to cross the level crossing as the barriers are up.

Am I right in thinking such level crossings are train-proximity activated, and independent of the signalling system?

I assume this wouldn't be the practice in the UK?

 

[MarcVD]

It's independant of the signalling for its activation, yes. But the signal would be held at danger if the level crossing equipment reported a malfunction. Which is not the case here, as the level crossing is not activated yet.

Keeping the level crossings completely tied to the signalling system usually results in longer delays between the closing of the crossing and the passage of the train. This causes motorists to go around barriers because they are impatient or believe that the crossing is dysfunctional. So it's a choice between two evils.

 

[peteb]

It's independant of the signalling for its activation, yes. But the signal would be held at danger if the level crossing equipment reported a malfunction. Which is not the case here, as the level crossing is not activated yet.

Keeping the level crossings completely tied to the signalling system usually results in longer delays between the closing of the crossing and the passage of the train. This causes motorists to go around barriers because they are impatient or believe that the crossing is dysfunctional. So it's a choice between two evils.

I see, thanks for letting me know

 

[zwk500]

It's independant of the signalling for its activation, yes. But the signal would be held at danger if the level crossing equipment reported a malfunction. Which is not the case here, as the level crossing is not activated yet.

Keeping the level crossings completely tied to the signalling system usually results in longer delays between the closing of the crossing and the passage of the train. This causes motorists to go around barriers because they are impatient or believe that the crossing is dysfunctional. So it's a choice between two evils.

With this crossing design and signalling, would the crossing still activate in time to show the driver the proper aspect sequence if it did fail mid-activation and require the red, or would the station call be seen as sufficient to stop the train short of an obstructed crossing?

 

[MarcVD]

With this crossing design and signalling, would the crossing still activate in time to show the driver the proper aspect sequence if it did fail mid-activation and require the red, or would the station call be seen as sufficient to stop the train short of an obstructed crossing?

It depends on the relative position of the activation zone relative to the last signal before the crossing.

In many cases, the activation zone is behind the last signal. In that case, nothing will inform the train driver that the crossing does not work properly.

If the activation zone starts ahead of the last signal, then the driver might have a chance to see the signal falling to red and stop in time. But not always.

To guarantee a stop of the train in time, the activation zone should start before the distant signal that repeats the last signal before the crossing. But as I said, this leads to a very long closing lead time, which infuriates drivers and incite some of them to run around barriers. This is seen as a more frequent cause of accidents, so the less evil is chosen...

 

[zwk500]

It depends on the relative position of the activation zone relative to the last signal before the crossing.

In many cases, the activation zone is behind the last signal. In that case, nothing will inform the train driver that the crossing does not work properly.

If the activation zone starts ahead of the last signal, then the driver might have a chance to see the signal falling to red and stop in time. But not always.

To guarantee a stop of the train in time, the activation zone should start before the distant signal that repeats the last signal before the crossing. But as I said, this leads to a very long closing lead time, which infuriates drivers and incite some of them to run around barriers. This is seen as a more frequent cause of accidents, so the less evil is chosen...

Thanks for the info, interesting to see the different approaches to risk taken by different railway and highway authorities!

 

[Bemined]

In the Netherlands it is like that as well. The interlocking system will have a preconfigured delay in case there is a train waiting at the signal when the route is being set to allow the crossing to close before the signal clears, but if the entire approach zone is clear the signal will clear as soon as the route is set. On line with automatic signals the signal is clear by default, but when a stopping train approaches it will fall back to red and the crossing announcement is temporarily disabled until the train is at the platform to allow traffic to cross until the train is ready to depart.

 

[Jan]

I assume this wouldn't be the practice in the UK?

It actually is, half-barrier crossings (AHBC) operate along the same principles.