A new automatic enforcement camera will go live at a Co Kerry railway level crossing on Tuesday to catch drivers breaking the speed limit or red lights.
The GoSafe camera, intended to combat persistent speeding at the Farranfore level crossing, will start operation at 12pm.
The automatic enforcement cameras will take pictures of the licence plates of drivers who fail to stop when the flashing red lights are showing at the railway crossing.
Offenders will receive an €80 fine and two penalty points. Drivers who attempt to speed through the crossing will be fined €160 and given three penalty points.
RM Block
The camera installation is the second of six planned cameras set to be placed at problematic level crossings in the coming months.
The first installation was at the Merrion Gates in south Dublin, which Iarnród Éireann said was chosen because of “persistent driver behaviour issues” where motorists attempt to beat the barrier by continuing past the stop line when the red lights are flashing.
In addition to Farranfore, Iarnród Éireann intends to deploy the cameras at the level crossing at Minish in Co Kerry, and in Co Roscommon at Knockcroghery where “speeding is the primary issue”.
In Dublin, a number of level crossings are set to get cameras including at Serpentine Avenue and Sandymount in south Dublin, and Sutton and Coolmine on the northside.
The installation of the cameras comes as a result of Transport Infrastructure Ireland being tasked in early 2024 with developing a national strategy for the introduction of camera-based enforcement.
Garda assistant commissioner for roads policing Denis Ferry said the force “welcome this next stage of co-operation with our partners in transport safety”.
He said the “effective use of this kind of technology will greatly help us to keep rail and road users safe through enforcement”.
Gardaí and GoSafe, the company responsible for speed vans in Ireland, will operate the cameras alongside Iarnród Éireann, with co-operation from Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Kerry County Council.
Motorists and cyclists drove into level crossing gates 23 times last year, a minor improvement on 28 incidents in 2024.
This year, a 12-year-old boy was killed in Mayo when a train struck a car at a user-operated crossing at Kiltybo near Ballyhaunis. Eoin Doyle was fatally injured while travelling in a car with his father, Declan, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
