Posted 26th October 2023 | 4 Comments
Network Rail warns of ‘shocking’ level crossing misuse
Network Rail is reminding people of the dangers of playing on or near the railway as some areas prepare for the school half term holiday, because there has been a spate of incidents involving children and young people at level crossings. Network Rail described CCTV images as ‘shocking’, because the cameras have recorded children taking risks on level crossings at Charfield in Gloucestershire, Wantage in Oxfordshire and at Toffles foot crossing, which is near Topsham on the Exmouth branch in Devon. They are shown stopping to take selfies, loitering on the track and failing to check that no trains are approaching before cycling across the line. East Midlands Railway has also reported young trespassers risking their lives at Bingham, between Grantham and Nottingham.
Unexplained cable damage disrupts Tyneside services
Network Rail teams are working to repair a damaged power cable in the Seaburn area which is affecting National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro services. The damage first caused problems on Tuesday but delays have continued, and Tyne and Wear Metro has been forced to reduce its service between Pelaw and South Hylton from five to two trains an hour. The cause of the damage has not been revealed.
New Network Rail route director named
Network Rail has confirmed that acting Sussex route director Lucy McAuliffe has been appointed permanently. She became acting route director last December following two years as the Southern region’s stations and security director, and since then has been overseeing efforts to improve reliability on the Sussex route.
Southeastern automates rolling stock inspections
Southeastern has signed a contract with Siemens Mobility and Eversholt Rail to develop a fully automated vehicle inspection system. The new technology will be installed at Ramsgate depot, and will use high sensitivity cameras and optical laser sensors to collect and analyse data about the condition of the Mainline fleet. AVI will check each train’s brake pads, collector shoes and wheel profiles, as well as the wheel tread thickness. It will also inspect the underframes.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Tim M, Cheltenham
LC misuse:
The man filmed at Charfield footpath crossing deserves special condemnation at his appalling standards of parenting. That his children had to warn him of the train's approach with a mere couple of seconds to spare leaves me with no further publishable words to describe him.
Greg T, London
I hate to say it, but a few photographs of the splattered remains after a fatality-from-stupidity ... MIGHT help?
Thoughts?
Don Hartwell, Milton Keynes
To many youngsters it is inconcievable that anything will happen to them so they push the boundaries.
In the USA Union Pacific published a selfie taken by three young teenage girls whilst standing in the middle of a track. A train was passing on an adjacent track. In the background of the photo' was a bright light. It was a train bearing down on them which they could not hear, Three seconds later those girls were dead. It was agreed by the bereaved parents that the photo' be published as a warning to others.
Neil Palmer, Waterloo
Re Level crossing misuse
If anything is going to be changed regarding this stupidity we need to see more cases of these idiots tracked down by the police, charged in court, fined & publicly named and shamed in the general media.