FAILURE: Garve AOCL, Ross-shire 29/11/08

The failure of a notorious Scottish automatic opening crossing has be attributed to a power cut.

A track circuit problem at the crossing in Garve, Ross-shire, led to the lights and sirens failing to activate as a passenger train approached Garve station. Network Rail reported that the driver's white warning light, which indicates AOC failure to train crew, worked correctly and the service was able to stop well before the crossing. The driver was able to use the trackside manual control to initiate the crossing closure system and continue into Garve station.

Garve was ranked by the Rail Safety and Standards Board as the most misused automatic open crossing in the UK in the period 1998-2005.

Photo (c) Frederik Ramm from On the Road in North-West Scotland