When passing through a level crossing, do you have priority over an oncoming rail vehicle?

In the photo you are approaching a level crossing over an electrified line in a town; the half-barriers on both sides are raised, and the lights at the crossing are not lit. When driving over the crossing, you do not have right of way over an approaching rail vehicle - the train always has it. The answer is: no.

The Road Traffic Act requires a driver approaching a level crossing and driving over it to exercise particular caution, and before entering the tracks to make sure that no rail vehicle is approaching; it also requires you to drive at such a speed that you can stop the vehicle in a safe place when a rail vehicle is approaching. These rules mean that the driver gives way to the train, never the other way round: a train at speed weighs hundreds of tonnes and needs as much as a kilometre to stop, so the train driver has no physical way to give way to you. Raised half-barriers and unlit signals only mean that the equipment has not detected a train - it may also be faulty, so before entering the tracks you slow down, look and listen in both directions, and drive on when you are sure that nothing is coming.

Legal basis: Art. 28 para. 1 and 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)