A joint safety operation in Lintgen on Thursday highlighted the dangers of last-minute crossings at railway barriers, as employees of the Luxembourg National Railway Company (CFL) and police marked International Level Crossing Awareness Day. The campaign comes amid ongoing concerns about risky behaviour at crossings nationwide.
Many commuters underestimate a critical fact: a train travelling at speed needs up to 1,200 metres to stop. “When the driver sees danger, it’s usually too late”, explained Doris Horvath of CFL’s security service. The Lintgen crossing exemplifies the risk – located just 200m from a traffic light, it regularly traps vehicles between lowering barriers and approaching trains travelling 100 km/h.
CFL records show five fatal accidents at protected crossings in the past ten years, plus approximately 50 annual incidents. “Two days ago in Walferdange, a barrier struck a bus window,” Horvath told our colleagues from RTL Télé, adding that “while not always tragic, these situations remain very dangerous.”
Though not automatically punishable, such behaviour is classified as “dangerous” by the Highway Code.
Reckless behaviour at railway crossings does not just endanger lives – it disrupts the entire network. Horvath revealed that incident-related delays nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024, cumulatively costing “ten days of lost time annually”. Luxembourg currently maintains 105 level crossings, with one removed in 2024. Another at Dommeldange will soon disappear, replaced by a pedestrian/cyclist underpass and diverted vehicle routes.
