What is the name for a barrier where a railway line crosses a road?

What do you call the barrier outlined in red in the picture below?

So far, I have found names like lifting barriers, boom barriers... enter image description here


Gate arm: movable wooden barrier of a level crossing.

Visual Dictionary Gate arm


gate arm Moving barrier that blocks the road to stop vehicles from crossing the tracks.

ikonet.com Gate arm

(It appears that the French clignotant was inadvertently left on the top illustation.)


In the US, these are called crossing gates.

Here’s a definitive reference at the NJ Transit website. https://www.njtransit.com/press-releases/nj-transit-reminds-drivers-rail-crossing-safety

NJ Transit is the largest statewide public transit operator in the United States. Close to New York and Philadephia, most of their track is separated grade, but out in the suburbs and the exurbs (most of the state, basically), there are plenty of grade crossings with variety of crossing gates.


In Britain the place where a highway crosses a railway track is called a “level crossing”, and although the term “barrier” can be used for object outlined in the picture, the word “gate” is more usual:

Level crossing gate

The adjectival embellishments of “barrier” in the question would be both unnecessary and sound odd to a Briton.

I suspect US usage is different — Merriam-Webster gives “grade crossing” — although I imagine “barrier” is used rather than gate.