KiwiRail infrastructure and engineering general manager Rick Van Barneveld said following the closure of the Auskerry St crossing to traffic, the nearby Stour St crossing, which had previously been protected only by passive signs, had now been upgraded.
''Installation of flashing light and bell alarms or the addition of half-arm barriers at any railway crossing is based on an assessment system that takes into account many factors including location, road and rail traffic numbers, the number of railway tracks to be crossed and whether views of approaching trains are obstructed.
''Using this information we have compiled an extended national priority list of 80 public road level crossings that justify the installation of new flashing light and bell alarms or the addition of half-arm barriers [for high traffic level crossings where flashing lights and bells are already installed].
''The closure of the Auskerry St level crossing to road vehicles earlier this month has diverted all that crossing's road traffic to Stour St. This means that Stour St carries sufficient traffic to justify the installation of alarms and therefore appeared on our national road level crossing upgrading priority list.''
It was the fifth crossing protection upgrade completed by KiwiRail for the financial year to the end of June, he said.
Waitaki District Council Palmerston ward Cr Kathy Dennison said issues with the crossing had been ''quite long-running'', but the upgrade had now provided the crossing with ''good safety precautions''.
''It's quite a tricky stop.''
