Mapping passive railway crossings to inform freight potential

The project seeks to assist the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI) to facilitate discussions with stakeholders about research and development needs related to the development of autonomous freight capabilities in Australia.

A StoryMaps approach will be taken to visualising the range and types of road-rail interactions along road freight routes and the extent to which the capability to run autonomous freight along these routes may be affected by passive level crossings.

Storymaps is the presentation of an immersive story, told by interactive maps and multimedia content, a product of Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute).

Participants

• Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation
• RMIT University

Project background

The project is being undertaken because ACRI has identified a need in preparing for the safe navigation of passive level crossings by autonomous road vehicles and the resulting opportunities for freight transport.

Understanding the extent of routes and level crossings affected can facilitate discussions of how to cost effectively develop these capabilities with high levels of safety.

Project objectives

The production of a set of maps of freight routes and associated railway level crossings that can facilitate discussion about future potential research needs for progressing the development of autonomous freight capabilities in Australia.

Final report

This project has been completed, and a wrap-up of it can be found at Railway crossing maps for autonomous road freight capabilities. Included there is information on the project’s background, objectives, methodology, results, conclusions, and exprected project impacts. Also included is a downloadable copy of the final report.