Ultimately, the correct level of safety comes from grade separation between the roads and the rails. With the embracing of commuter and passenger operations, we really need to separate cars and rail.
Level crossings have some inherent safety risk. They vary by location and by angle, but ultimately that's where we need to go. GO alone has almost 200 level crossings, and every year we chip away at separating the grades. But we need a massive program to separate grades throughout the operation. For our own level crossings, we go to the max with lights, bells, and gates. Whether or not this is warranted by the thresholds specified by Transport Canada, we do it anyway because we think it's the right thing to do.
Awareness is also important. To this end, we are working with Operation Lifesaver. It's important to work through the railway association on this. Education is a big part of what we do.
There are other types of fatalities. Level crossings are generally the access point for trespassers, people who are trying to get across the tracks before the trains arrive. That's highly risky. Again, education is really important, but the number-one solution is to separate the grades between the rails and the roads.