Government looks to improve safety at Japan’s dangerous railway crossings

The transport ministry plans to support the installation from fiscal 2025 of manually operated gates and fences at Class 4 railway crossings, which do not have alarms or barriers, in order to boost the safety of dangerous crossings.

The measures are designed to reduce accidents by urging pedestrians to temporarily stop at railroad crossings. The ministry sought necessary funding under the government’s budget for the fiscal year that starts next April.

In April this year, a girl in the fourth grade at an elementary school died after being hit by a train operated by Joshin Electric Railway at a Class 4 railroad crossing in the city of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture.

As of the end of March 2023, there were about 2,400 Class 4 crossings around Japan, mainly at regional railways.

Following the accident, the ministry will expand from fiscal 2025 its subsidy program for railway operators for the introduction of alarms, barriers and emergency buttons at crossings. The expanded program will also cover the installation at Class 4 crossings of equipment such as gates that are manually pushed or lifted.

The central and local governments will shoulder up to five-sixths of the expenses under the program.

The ministry opted to support the introduction of such simpler safety equipment because the introduction of Class 1 crossings, which have both alarms and barriers, costs ¥20 million to ¥30 million.

Railway crossings are categorized into four types. Nationwide, there are about 590 Class 3 crossings, which have alarms but are not equipped with barriers. Class 2 crossings, in which barriers are operated by security personnel, are not currently installed, according to the ministry.