As Royal Railway increases its traffic—there are now up to 16 freight and passenger train journeys daily along the 266-km line between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville—incidents like this are increasing, Mr. Guiry said.

The cement truck was the fifth vehicle to crash on the rail line since January, with motorists either ignoring clear signs to stop at crossings or crossing off-road where there are no signs, highlighting the need for more work in educating drivers, said Ear Chariya, director of the Institute for Road Safety.

On May 26, a van driver attempted to cross train tracks in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district at a spot where cows cross, police said at the time. After a train carrying diesel fuel for local conglomerate Sokimex struck the van on the tracks, the driver fled the scene, leaving the company to shunt it off the tracks.

In Kampot province in March, a truck carrying cement attempted to cross in front of the oncoming train, causing a collision. And in April, one of the newly operating passenger trains hit an SUV in Kandal province, injuring the driver, his wife and four children. Video footage from the front of the train showed the car driver watching the approaching train and then stopping in the middle of the tracks.

Mr. Guiry said that following the resumption of freight transport between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville in 2013, the company had invested in education and safety along the track, including handing out leaflets and sending out a trolley-car blasting a safety message along the lines of “please stay away from the line.”

A recent $2.5 million project to make official crossings easier to navigate—and therefore more likely to be used—had been undertaken because people still cross at “illegal” points, he said. Four more sets of boom barriers have been installed at larger crossings in the past two months, and 65 guards are employed at the largest crossings to help to ensure safety, he added.

But near misses with trains, and accidents involving the barriers, indicate that more needs to be done. Mr. Guiry said he had recently asked the Interior Ministry to station police officers at major crossings to help enforce the rules.

The cement truck was the fifth vehicle to crash on the rail line since January, with motorists either ignoring clear signs to stop at crossings or crossing off-road where there are no signs, highlighting the need for more work in educating drivers, said Ear Chariya, director of the Institute for Road Safety.

hanno wrote:

The cement truck was the fifth vehicle to crash on the rail line since January, with motorists either ignoring clear signs to stop at crossings or crossing off-road where there are no signs, highlighting the need for more work in educating drivers, said Ear Chariya, director of the Institute for Road Safety.

No shit, Sherlock!

On May 26, a van driver attempted to cross train tracks in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district at a spot where cows cross, police said at the time.

the need for more work in educating drivers,