Level Crossing Removal Project
Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP)
Throughout 2017, TSA Riley provided strategic transport planning advice for the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP). TSA Riley supported the project to deliver a prioritisation framework that assessed the need for removal of the remaining level crossings across Melbourne’s metropolitan and regional commuter rail networks.
The team consulted with a range of government stakeholders from transport and planning departments, via a series of workshops and ‘internal challenge’ sessions. This enabled the team to understand the issues related to level crossings and the factors driving the case for their removal.
A prioritisation framework was developed, based on the following four principles:
- Movement (across the network) – sites where excessive delay and unreliability caused by high train frequencies have a broad economic impact.
- Place (local access) – sites where high train frequencies significantly limits connectivity between communities and impedes access to important facilities.
- Safety (incidents and risks) – sites with a record of incidents or a high risk of incidents.
- Delivery (efficiency) – sites where there is an opportunity to increase investment efficiency and minimise disruption impacts on the community and businesses.
As part of the development of the framework, the team applied Department of Transport’s (DoT) ‘Movement and Place in Victoria’ guidelines to define and rate factors considered important at each level crossing location. Factors included: the amount of traffic, the number of trains in the morning peak and the importance of access of local services, education and shopping.