It's time for the Rawson Rd level crossing to be removed
The dangerous railway level crossing at Rawson Rd, Woy Woy, has over the years been the scene of far too many tragic deaths through fatal vehicle accidents and suicides.
The latest incident on Friday, April 19, of a car mistakenly turning onto the rail lines at the level crossing, could have been fatal.
It created a long rail stoppage to north and south rail lines for so many Friday evening peak-hour commuters and was another incredibly expensive, unplanned incident, involving rail replacement by buses (Hornsby-Gosford), with additional emergency workers, ambulance, police and fire personnel attending.
At what cost?
What a huge Friday peak-hour upheaval for train travellers trying to get home.
This latest event would not have happened if the Rawson Rd Level crossing had been removed when planned, years ago.
This is a busy rail crossing on the main northern rail line and vehicle traffic is stopped every few minutes for passenger trains and freight trains to pass, all day and night 24/7.
When a train activates the level crossing boom gates and stops all road traffic, it also stops ambulances and fire trucks, desperate to save someone's life or a house on fire.
The level crossing is the only way for tall critical vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks to get across the rail line in an emergency.
There is no other way to cross the rail tracks.
Traffic can be stopped for many minutes when a 1.8km long, slow freight train enters the level crossing and that occurs many times each hour, night and day 24/7.
Is that good enough in 2024?
The answer is obviously No.
In addition, Woy Woy Rd users deserve better than a rickety, old and dangerous one-way traffic by-pass under the rail line adjacent to the boat ramp on Woy Woy Rd.
You and I use this by-pass and so do thousands of other drivers, particularly those getting to and from work each day.
It is dangerous, creates confusion on both sides, with resultant congestion and delays.
The Central Coast Council provided the design and completed all of the site preparation (outside of the rail corridor) and the critical road tunnel-rail bridge project under the rail line was unfortunately shut down by poor decision making at the time.
Stage one was successfully completed before stage two (the critical bit) was abruptly shut down.
To quote Gough Whitlam: "It's time."
It's time for action to complete the most important section of the project, the road tunnel-rail bridge, to create a smooth unrestricted two-way traffic flow under the main northern rail line.
It's time for our community to be vocal and demand that the Rawson Rd level crossing be removed and replaced with a road tunnel by the Minns Government, now.
Contact your local member Liesl Tesch MP at her Woy Woy office and demand action.
SOURCE:
Email, 22 Apr 2024
Neil Thompson, Woy Woy