The cost benefit analysis of level crossing safety measures

摘要

Even though the general safety level of rail transport is quite satisfactory compared to road transport, a problem still persists, that of level crossings (LCs). The fact is that road users' behavior plays a large part in accidents where most of them do not occur following a failure of the railway system but are due to individuals' behavior. Knowing this, the Rail Optimization Safety Analysis (ROSA) project intends to identify several safety measures through a cost benefit analysis (CBA) in order to enhance the safety level at LCs on the French and German railway systems. The choice of leading a CBA is not random. Indeed, it allows comparisons between all the possible alternatives to aid the decision makers to be able to invest in the most profitable safety measure. However, it is very difficult to include all the effects of all the possible safety options. This is why the results have to be interpreted with caution.