Page 56 - Operation Lifesaver Estonia Annual Report 2011

Railway Safety in Estonia - 54 - Annual Report 2011
INTERNATIONAL // EDUCATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON RAILWAY SAFETY
15-16 MARCH 2011 IN TALLINN
International educational conference on
railway safety “Let’s save lives 2011”
In cooperation with UIC and ELFC, OLE organised on
15th and 16th of March 2011 in Tallinn an international
railway safety conference under the title “Let’s save lives
2011”. Tamo Vahemets, while opening the conference,
invited the 150 participants from 22 countries to stand
for a minute of silence in the memory of the Japanese
earthquake victims.
JIn the following we are trying to present a brief
overview of the ideas presented at the conference and
the atmosphere of these days but also to identify the
most important issues the railway safety professionals
of different countries have been dealing with during the
past year.
The first keynote speaker Enrico Grillo Pasquarelli, Land
Transport Director at the European Commission’s DG
MOVE, stressed the importance of such a conference on
level crossing safety and reported on the EU transport
safety objectives through the EC Road Safety Action
Programme 2011-2020 “on the move for safer roads in
Europe” to halve the number of fatalities on the roads. It
includes the “shared responsibility” on road infrastructure
including level crossings. Better engineering at level
crossings (better visibility, modern technology) as well as
training, education, awareness and enforcement are also
needed to improve safety.
Though rail has very good safety records, the interface
of road and rail represents a very significant cause for
concern. There are limited options for train operators,
but there needs to be a tougher stance towards the
road sector on the part of the authorities, which could
include European funding going only to areas that meet
requirements. Building underpasses and bridges are the
key to decreasing the number of level crossings but these
are difficult investment decisions. Various planning and
maintenance actions are supported. According to article
18 of the Vienna Convention, rail has priority. Human or
technological solutions in conjunction with education
in schools and driving schools are most important to
increase safety which is being achieved by Operation
Lifesaver.
PUBLIC EVENTS