Tragic accident in Ottensheim: level crossing is now being secured!

Tragic accident in Ottensheim: level crossing is now being secured!

On June 25, 2025, a tragic record will be drawn in Austria: A six -year -old boy died at a railway crossing in Ottensheim in early June when he was grasped by a train with his bike. The accident occurred at the Linzer Straße/Hambergstrasse intersection, where the father drove directly behind his son with a bicycle trailer, but could not prevent the child from being hit. Despite all efforts, the boy died of his serious injuries in the hospital. In response to this, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) announced that it will secure the level crossing with a barrier in the future and install a warning tone. These security measures were considered necessary due to an official review. Comprehensive structural measures to improve security at this point are already being planned and are realized in cooperation with the market town and the state of Upper Austria. Until the final implementation of these measures, an acoustic additional protection is temporarily installed.

The situation at level crossings in Austria is not new. Statistics show that the number of accidents on railway crossings has decreased significantly in recent years. For example, there was a halving of accidents between 2005 and 2015, from initially 163 to 71. According to current data, there were a total of 52 accidents on railroad crossings in 2024, with three deaths to complain about. This proves the still existing risk to these routes, despite the fact that the number of level crossings over 6,000 to around 2,916 has been drastically reduced since 2000. More than 1,600 of these transitions have now been technically secured, which means that they are equipped with light signs and/or barriers

causes of the accident and security measures

The problem of security at level crossings is not limited to Austria. Similar challenges are also present internationally. Railout crossings that originally arose on traffic arms are not permitted at trains over 160 km/h. Safety concerns led to their rejection at higher speeds. In Germany, over 70% of the level crossings are technically secured. Nevertheless, there is a significant part of non -technical transitions in the company, which are usually only protected by visual control and acoustic warning signals.

In total, ÖBB invests over 25 million euros annually in safety on railway crossings. Further investments flow from federal revenue and road construction load agents. A nationwide program for the elimination of dangerous level crossings was initiated in 1980 and has shown positive effects in accident statistics in recent years. Nevertheless, the sensitization of road users remains an important factor in the fight against the dangers of level crossings.