Legislation
The law applying to level crossings has evolved over the past 160 years. Currently, laws relating to the highways, railways and health and safety apply.
Duties are placed on a number of bodies and individuals including:
- railway infrastructure managers,
- level crossing operators,
- highway and traffic authorities,
- employers,
- train and freight operators (transport undertakings in ROGS terminology),
- road users, and
- other crossing users.
No single government department controls all level crossing legislation.
We have particular involvement in level crossing safety through the:
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,
- Level Crossings Act 1983,
- Transport and Works Act 1992,
- Level Crossings Regulations 1997,
- Railways Act 2005, and
- Road Safety Act 2006.
These Acts can be found in the UK statutory law database.
Information and advice on level crossing orders made under the Level Crossings Act 1983 is available in A guide to the level crossing order submissions.




