Thursday, August 26, 2010

The End Of The Line

It's time to draw Level Crossing News to a close. I no longer have the time to keep the site up-to-date, which rather defeats its purpose. I'll keep the site posted for reference purposes but won't be able to answer emails or post comments.

2010 has been a testing time for level crossing safety in the UK. Incidents such as Moreton-on-Lugg and Little Cornard show that there are still huge steps to be taken in risk reduction by both the rail industry and the general public.

My walk to work takes me across one of the most abused crossings in England, the CCTV full-barrier crossing at Spondon in Derbyshire. I see an average of four instances a week of motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians ignoring the lights. In recent weeks, with local road works diverting more traffic over the crossing, there have been several incidents involving road vehicles striking the barriers. The arrogance and ignorance on display never ceases to amaze me.

To keep up-to-date with level crossing news from around the world, I strongly recommend visiting the excellent sites run by John Tilly and Dr Unbewachter von Eisenbahn-Übergang. It's also well worth subscribing to the Google Alerts service for level/railway crossing related news and blog updates.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Simon Johnson
www.levelcrossingnews.blogspot.com
August 2010

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

INCIDENT: Little Cornard UWC+T, Suffolk 17/08/10


A passenger train and a tanker collided on a user-worked crossing in Suffolk.

The two-car National Express East Anglia service from Sudbury to Marks Tey collided with a sewage tanker on the crossing which serves Anglian Water's Shalford Meadow waste treatment plant. Twenty-one injuries, some critical, were reported amongst the train crew and passengers. The train derailed but stayed upright.

The lorry driver, who was not injured, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of dangerous driving.

Network Rail are reported as saying that they received no calls to authorise use of the crossing prior to the incident.

Photo - Daily Telegraph via albanpix.com