$180m in Regional Australia Level Crossing Safety Program

The funding was allocated to the Regional Australia Level Crossing Safety Program and will be rolled out this financial year, with priority upgrades including boom gates, lighting, signals at level crossings and road rumble strips.

It has been a long time coming for WA crash victim families, who have relentlessly fought to prevent such fatalities in regional areas for 20 years.

Now the group is calling on the State government to match the Federal government commitment, with Wondinong station pastoralist Lara Jensen saying "road and rail safety was everyone's responsibility".

Ms Jensen is one of 12 Australian families, who are part of the 'Improve Train Lighting and Passive Level Crossing Safety' campaign.

Her brother Christian - and his two friends Jess Broad and Hilary Smith - were killed when the car they were travelling in was hit by a grain train at the Yarramony passive level crossing near Northam in July 2000.

WA State coroner Alastair Hope concluded in the 2001 inquest into the three deaths that "the train was not lit with any form of alerting lights" and "inadequate train lighting was also a factor in the crash and resulting deaths".

An independent consultant who gave evidence at the inquest also found that signage on approach to the crossing was "not sufficiently conspicuous to warn motorists of the presence of a railway crossing".

Ms Jensen said the Federal funding was a promising start, but there was still a long way to go.

She said instead of priding itself on improvements to the Perth-Bunbury rail line, the State government should take a "good hard look" at unlit crossings on operational lines, predominantly in the Wheatbelt.

"Passive level crossings represent serious dangers to regional motorists and have for decades claimed many lives or have been the location of serious, life-threatening injuries," Ms Jensen said.

"The risk matrix my brother faced 20 years ago is exactly the same as what is seen at passive crossings today.

"People are dying on regional and rural roads because of a system failure.

"It is a multi-faceted issue with multi-agency responsibilities including the State government, Main Roads, rail infrastructure managers as well as regional shires where these passive level crossings exist."

There are more than 20,000 passive crossings across Australia, controlled by give way and stop signs only.

There are still 509 passive level crossings on operational lines in WA and the majority are in the Wheatbelt.

Signage at these crossings is determined by vehicle volumes.

Ms Jensen said on the day of her brother's death, there were four train and 78 vehicle movements over the Yarramony level crossing.

"What I will continue to dispute with Main Roads is that 78 vehicle counts doesn't mean 78 people are at risk," she said.

"What about school buses, family cars?

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"There are very few single occupants in vehicles in farming areas."

Ms Jensen added, the lack of safety lighting on freight and passenger trains in the regions, also posed a serious danger to regional motorists.

For this reason, the group is also pushing hard for governments to mandate improved visibility on trains and force rail companies to fit lighting (hazard, side and front) to locomotives and rolling stock.

"If the rail industry wants to be perceived as demonstrating any duty of care whatsoever for their own train drivers - or wants to show the public that they have a legitimate social licence to operate - they should want to do all they can to mitigate the risk of collisions at passive level crossings by making their locomotives and rolling stock clearly visible and illuminated at all times," Ms Jensen said.

"Better lit trains will automatically make these passive level crossings safer."

In a letter addressed to Ms Jensen and issued by Main Roads on November 2, acting managing director Des Snook said a review would investigate the available sighting at all passively controlled public road level crossings.

Mr Snook stated this would be done via undertaking an Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model assessment at each crossing.

"Main Roads is in the process of correlating the information, which has been collected, including road and rail volumes and speeds," Mr Snook said.

"A final report is anticipated within the next two months.

"I can confirm that where sight line requirements for give way signs are not met on an operation line, the minimum level of control will be upgraded to a stop sign.

"I would anticipate these changes being implemented within the first quarter of 2023."