That is why PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A., as part of the Railway Traffic Safety Improvement Programme comprising more than 200 initiatives, is conducting the “Safe Crossing” public-awareness campaign. The 11th edition of the campaign has already begun, with a new format and a new slogan: “Barrier Against Risk!” Thanks to the infrastructure manager’s consistent efforts, 2014 was the safest year in history.

Since 2011, the number of railway accidents has fallen by one quarter, while the number of injured people has decreased by 44%. In 2014, 14% fewer accidents were recorded at level crossings than in 2013. This is the result of the public-awareness campaign conducted since 2005, as well as the largest investment programme in history, under which PLK is renovating thousands of kilometres of railway lines and modernising 1,400 level crossings and 3,000 railway turnouts for a total of PLN 3 billion.

– All railway-road crossings are safe. Regardless of their category, they guarantee pedestrians and drivers safe passage across the tracks. On one condition: that traffic regulations are respected. And this is still the biggest problem in Poland, because many of us ignore them, more or less consciously. That is why we have been conducting the Safe Crossing public-awareness campaign for 11 years – says Andrzej Pawłowski, Vice-President of the Management Board of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A.

Over the past 12 months, 69 people were injured as a result of failing to observe regulations at railway-road crossings. A further 241 pedestrians suffered injuries after entering the tracks in prohibited areas. Each such incident, besides its fundamental dimension—the tragedy suffered by the victims and their families—also generates numerous negative costs for society and the economy. The costs of moral loss, suffering and the loss of loved ones are difficult to estimate. The remaining costs, according to calculations by institutions such as the World Bank, amount to millions of złoty.

These include compensation payments, the costs of emergency services, treatment and rehabilitation for the injured, and lost GDP that would otherwise have been generated by people who died.

Safety in railway areas is a shared responsibility: of railway workers, authorities, law-enforcement services, drivers and pedestrians. Shaping and reinforcing appropriate attitudes, and raising awareness of the dangers resulting from failing to exercise particular caution, are the overriding objectives of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A.’s activities. Since 2005, as part of the “Safe Crossing” campaign, PLK has been raising awareness of what recklessness, haste, routine and risk-taking can lead to when crossing intersections in railway areas.

For the past 10 years, the campaign has focused primarily on informing people about the tragic consequences of collisions with speeding trains. To further reinforce this message, the campaign is changing its format this year. Not only have the logo and visual materials been refreshed, but so has the way the public is reached. Continuing to address safety, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. is focusing on explaining two aspects: taking extreme risks and the psychological consequences of accidents—the effects of recklessness, routine and haste.

The campaign is supported by safety experts: University of Warsaw professor, habilitated doctor of psychology Adam Tarnowski, MD, PhD Krzysztof Kowalczuk from the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine, and Jakub Niklas from IPRON Consulting. The objective of the nationwide activities remains unchanged: to minimise the number of incidents threatening people’s lives and health in railway areas.

The campaign is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The scale of the activities and their public recognition have earned international acclaim. On 5 February 2015 in Brussels, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. was recognised for improving safety at railway-road crossings as part of the European Road Safety Charter (EKBRD). It is the largest civic platform for road safety, run by the European Commission.

As part of the regular, year-round activities conducted under “Safe Crossing”, the organisers hold simulations, competitions, happenings, lectures for children, field patrols by the Railway Protection Guard, and an extensive information campaign in the media, on posters and in leaflets. All this is intended to make crossings and other railway areas safer. More information: www.bezpieczny-przejazd.pl, as well as on social media: #SzlabanNaRyzyko.

Figures:

  • 12,307 – the number of railway-road crossings and pedestrian crossings managed by PLK
  • 1,400 – the investment programme includes the modernisation of this many crossings in 2012–2015
  • 241 – pedestrians injured in 2014 after entering the tracks
  • 69 – people injured in 2014 as a result of failing to observe regulations at crossings
  • 44 – the percentage decrease since 2011 in the number of people injured in railway accidents
  • 14 – the percentage fewer accidents recorded at crossings in 2014 than in 2013
  • 10 – editions of the “Safe Crossing” campaign held so far.

Maciej Dutkiewicz, PKP PLK S.A./ii