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Respect the sign.  Lives are on the line.

Aurizon's safety value ‘We know safe, we choose safe’ reinforces the personal commitment our people make to delivering safely every day. Our team works around the clock to transport millions of tonnes of commodities across the country safely.

Our trains pass through level crossings where roads intersect with rail corridors. Each of these level crossings have warning signs and measures such as flashing lights, alarm bells, or boom gates to protect everyone: pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, truck drivers, as well as our train drivers.

Despite these measures, every year Australian train drivers experience over 1,000 near misses with people, cars and trucks at level crossings. Some people take unnecessary risks to save only a few seconds.

Risky behaviours can lead to collisions, injuries, and even death, causing trauma for everyone involved, including our train drivers.

In this video, you can listen to our drivers’ first-hand accounts of their distressing experiences, highlighting the importance of paying attention to warning signs at level crossings.  These human experiences are at the heart of Aurizon’s current major education and awareness campaign - Respect the sign. Lives are on the line.

We are committed to improving safety for train crews and the community, investing in understanding, and addressing level crossing incidents. Level crossing safety is a shared responsibility.  We urge you to play your part.

Our commitment to safety

As Australia’s largest rail freight company, we are committed to ensuring safety for ourselves, each other, and the communities in which we operate.

We collaborate with many organisations to promote safety awareness among those who interact with rail operations in their local community.

Our employees deliver engaging presentations to primary and secondary school students to encourage a culture of safety from a young age. Request a presentation for your school via email.

You can also play your part in improving safety at level crossings. At your next community gathering, why not take a photo of your group doing the ‘Respect the sign’ pose?  

Upon consent, please email it to community@aurizon.com.au and your photo could appear on Aurizon’s social media channels.


Level crossing safety | School pack

Level crossing safety | Community pack

There is also a significant amount of work and investment underway to manage other contributing factors to level crossing safety.  These include Aurizon:

  • working with all levels of government to increase investment in level crossing upgrades and to advocate for a consistent national approach to safety priorities and to increase awareness and education of road vehicle drivers.
  • collaborating with regulatory, safety and enforcement agencies to assess and implement effective technology and enforcement strategies to help prevent level crossing incidents or near misses, including in-car navigation alerts.
  • participating in industry working groups under the National Level Crossing Strategy 2023-2032 to deliver specific initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence of fatalities and injuries across Australia's level crossings sharing information with like-minded community groups such as Police Citizens Youth clubs and the Get Home Safe Foundation, so they can share and amplify the message with their networks.

Did you know...

  • Trains can weigh up to 14,000 tonnes or the equivalent of 9,000 cars. A fully loaded freight train can take more than two kilometres to come to a full stop.
  • Every year, there are more than 1,000 near misses or collisions at Australian level crossings.
  • Australia has more than 20,000 level crossings. Each of these crossings have a warning sign to protect pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, truck driver and driving tourists. Many crossings also have flashing lights, alarm bells and boom gates for added protection and safety.

If you take risks, remember that trains cannot stop quickly. Every near miss, incident or fatality on the rail network also impacts our train drivers and put their lives at risk. It can cause severe and ongoing trauma to them and their families.  

The message is simple - Respect the sign. Lives are on the line. 

Proud supporter of the TrackSAFE Foundation

At Aurizon we recognise that rail safety must extend beyond just our organisation to educational and community service groups, local and federal government, road users and the broader community.

That’s why Aurizon is one of the founding members of TrackSAFE, a harm-prevention charity dedicated to improving the workplace for rail employees. 

Established in 2012 by the Australian rail industry, TrackSAFE offers trauma-related support to rail workers and specialises in rail suicide prevention, as well as level crossing and track safety. 

The Foundation has partnered with R U OK? to deliver its major initiative – the annual Rail R U OK? Day – and is striving to create an industry where genuine conversations and strong relationships in the workplace can help us to recognise the signs that someone may be struggling and ask them “are you ok?”.  

TrackSAFE coordinates the annual community awareness initiative – Rail Safety Week – held in August each year, designed to engage the community in safe rail practices.

TrackSAFE has also created Early Childhood Thomas the Tank Engine education resources targeting 3 – 5 year olds which you can find here.  

Learn more about TrackSAFE’s initiatives by visiting the Foundation’s
website.