Investigation into barriers on level crossing (From This is Hampshire)

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Investigation into barriers on level crossing in Totton

1:40pm Friday 7th October 2011 in News Photograph of the Author By Patrick Knox, Senior Reporter

The level crossing in Totton

RAIL chiefs are to investigate whether the barriers at a busy Hampshire level crossing allow enough time for elderly pedestrians to get over the tracks safely.

It comes after the Daily Echo revealed there was just 15 seconds from an alarm sounding to the barrier being fully lowered at the Junction Road crossing in Totton, where two pensioners have been trapped in the past week.

Network Rail’s own guidelines state the process should take a minimum of 19 seconds – and it could be anything up to 29 seconds.

Twice in the past week there have been near misses including an elderly woman who was crossing the track after the barriers went up, before being stranded in the middle when they suddenly came down again.

Two motorists leapt out of their car and told her to flatten herself against the side of the crossing as the train hurtled through. She was unhurt but left shocked by the incident.

That came just days after one of the barriers came down on top of a pensioner riding his mobility scooter.

Now campaigners have called for the guidelines to be met before a tragedy happens.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director of Age UK, said: “If there are guidelines in place for the time a barrier takes to close then it would seem advisable to stick to those guidelines to offer the highest protection possible and avoid the possibility of a tragic accident.

“Getting trapped on a railway line by a level crossing barrier closing must be terrifying, especially if you have reduced mobility.

“Such crossings are inherently dangerous places but sometimes are the only practical way to cross.”

A Network Rail spokesman told the Daily Echo: “As part of our investigation into the two reported incidents at Totton we will look at the timings of the level crossing sequence – from the lights coming on to all the barriers being in the full down position.

“The railway through Totton is double track, so the width of the crossing is approximately ten metres, so anyone crossing the railway is never more than five metres from the barrier.

It goes without saying that if the sequence has already started, nobody should be attempting to cross.”

Safety engineers will now examine black boxes similar to those used in aircraft, which record data over weeks to establish the right timings for barriers. They will show up if there is a fault in the system.

Police are also investigating after a double-decker bus smashed through the barrier last Friday.

Comments(14)

OSPREYSAINT says...
2:24pm Fri 7 Oct 11

The lowering of the barriers at Totton is done under CCTV surveillance, the lowering sequence is controllable and varies with traffic seen on the crossing itself, (there are many incursions after the light sequence has started), the lights start with a flashing yellow and audible alarms, once the lights have changed to red, no further movement on to the crossing should be made, but until the lights are flashing correctly the barriers will not be lowered, two facing barriers are lowered first, giving anything still on the crossing the chance to clear before the trailing barriers are lowered, all under camera surveillance. The operator should ensure that the crossing is clear before operating the train signals for the passage of trains. Once the sequence is complete the camera is extinguished and anything that happens afterwards would not be seen by the operator. Cannot comment on the incidents as I don't know the facts other than what I have read in the papers.