AS 7531 Lighting and Visibility

The closing date for comments – Friday 27 February 2026.

The latest review of the AS 7531 Rolling Stock Lighting and Visibility draft is now open for Public Consultation.

How this improves safety 

A train’s visibility and appearance can affect how easily it can be seen from a distance. This allows enough time for people to get out of harm’s way.

AS 7531 provides operators with the performance and technical requirements for rolling stock lighting, livery and reflectivity. It is one of the key initiatives aimed at reducing road/rail collisions at level crossings, supporting the outcomes of the National Level Crossing Safety Strategy.

The Standard reflects current research, good practice and aligns with ONRSR’s Code of Practice Train Visibility at Level Crossings to minimise the train visibility-related risks of road/rail collisions, with the aim of improving community safety.

AS 7531 applies to all rolling stock and provides guidance for operators on measuring the level of visibility (conspicuity), including options to choose the types of control to improve this relevant to their operating environment.

About

This Standard has been reviewed and updated by a Development Group consisting of a diverse range of industry specialists and other stakeholders like road managers and users. This review takes into consideration the ONRSR commissioned research report by the Monash Institute of Railway Technology (MIRT) “Quantitative assessment of visibility of modified locomotive lighting” published in September 2024 and the subsequent ONRSR ministerial Code of Practice for Level Crossings and Train Visibility in December 2024.

This review focuses on addressing the specific recommendations from the MIRT report, as well as:

• technical requirements for train lighting including forward facing beacon lighting and side light arrangements
• livery design on front facing areas of the leading rolling stock and use of reflective materials
• luminance (brightness) contrast specifications and testing methodology to support rolling stock visibility (conspicuity).

How to contribute

AS 7531 Lighting and Visibility will be available for public consultation for 72 days. All interested parties are encouraged to provide comments during this time.

It is available to download here.

To make comments on the draft, please use the commenting tools in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to comment in-line with the text. If needed you can find instructions here.

Please return your PDF with comments to AS7531@rissb.com.au by Friday 27 February 2026.

As the rail industry’s accredited Standards Development Organisation (SDO), ARISO continues to collaborate with government, rail operators and industry leaders to improve the efficiency and harmonisation of the Australia’s rail network, ensuring national interoperability, safety and sustainability into the future.