ELCF (European Level Crossing Forum)

The ELCF ELCF European Level Crossing Forum is an informal group that brings together rail and highway safety professionals from many European countries in order to exchange information and share experiences and lessons for improving the management of level crossings. It nominally meets twice a year. The diverse mix of safety experts who attend, results in many thought provoking and challenging ideas and an in-depth understanding of how the range of issues associated with level crossings are dealt with in various countries. Many of the issues discussed become useful reference tools for the participants.

ELCF signed the European Road Safety Charter in 2009. This committed the forum to an awareness campaign at level crossings. So UIC, on behalf of ELCF, has managed international campaigns, which have become a great global success, the International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD). More than 40 countries took part on 7 June 2012 ? including all EU countries with railways, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Canada, U.S.A. and several countries in South America. The next edition is to be held on 7 May 2013, for more information please visit the ILCAD website.

ELCF has consistently voiced the need to address road users’ behaviour and takes the view that level crossing accidents must be considered a shared responsibility between several players ; including road authorities, railway companies, local authorities and land use planning entities. We have identified three priorities for work to address safety at level crossings.

• Education and awareness, as described above. • Review of the road signs used at level crossings across Europe, working with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which is reviewing the Vienna convention on road signs. • Joint inspections at level crossings by the road and rail infrastructure authorities and enforcement agencies.

This is done by the 5 Es ; Enabling, Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Evaluation.

The last plenary meetings of ELCF were held in May 2012 near Oslo in Norway and on 24 January 2013 in Utrecht. Both rail and highway infrastructure organisations are welcome.

Also in 2012, RSSB RSSB Railway Safety Standards and Boards hosted the 12th Global Level Crossing and Trespass Symposium and the 22nd IRSC « International Railway Safety Conference » in London, 7-12 October 2012. Read also http://www.uic.org/com/uic-e-news/313/

Chairman : Alan Davies, RSSB

Secretary and contact at UIC :

Isabelle FONVERNE Projects Officer, Interoperability and Safety fonverne@uic.org