This from the Bexhill Observer...
An 85-year-old woman has had a lucky escape after driving down a high-speed railway line for 80 yards after taking a wrong turn at a level crossing in Hampshire.
The woman had a 20-year-old man in her car as she drove towards Brockenhurst station in New Forest.
And this image of the scene via @GastroChap...
Time to consider an age limit for driving?
So good news from the North Norfolk Railway!
This from ITV Anglia Tonight...
An extraordinary thing happened on Thursday: hundreds and hundreds of people, possibly even thousands turned out for the opening of a new level crossing in North Norfolk.
Can it be long before NR issues a press release entitled: Sheringham 'would it kill you to wait?'
UPDATE: This from a Mr Tilly...
Some more photos of the opening event here.
According to the Downing Street spokesman in the Lobby today:
Councils have been told by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis to cut salt-spreading by up to 50%.
As this risks making road travel less safe isn't this a perfect opportunity for the TOCs and NR to work together so as to generate some additional traffic?
Providing, of course, intending passengers can actually reach their local stations...
UPDATE: This genius solution from Tom West...
Surely the obvious thing is to persuade councils to only grit the side of the road leading *to* railway stations.
WTF?
This just in from transport hack and author Andy Roden...
A good friend of mine was given a whizzy satellite navigation system by his employers to help him find his way by road to the various bits of the rail network in Devon and Cornwall he has to work on (despite the fact that he knows the county’s rail network as well as everyone).
After a meeting in Bristol he thought he’d try this new box of tricks out on the train back to see what it could do.
Initially it was very confused, constantly trying to point him onto the nearest road, but around Par my mate decided to try its walking function and asked it to give him directions to Penzance from the railway station.
Lo and behold, it suggested he walk all the way down the Cornish Main Line as far as Hayle, where it finally opted to send him on the main road back to Penzance, presumably having dodged the HSTs, Voyagers and Sprinters along the way.
It’s a bit worrying though – after hearing about people driving down railway lines because they’ve had their brains surgically replaced by Satnavs, is the next thing a plague of hikers getting confused between country tracks and Country Tracks?
FGW and Arriva XC drivers beware!
This just in from Sussex Driver...
Southern are being a bit naughty and refusing to recognise the 28th Dec as a Bank Holiday and so the brothers aren't best pleased.
Cue a ballot for industrial action... and the results from ASLEF (633 Votes Cast)...
Yes 94.8%
No 5.2%
Big Bob is also balloting his members over the same issue.
Happy Christmas!
Perhaps cost conscious Capt Permatan is merely being careful, having just splashed out on a brand new Aston Martin and all?
Amount to be spent by the Government "in the near future"on the 10 worst stations identified by the Stationers to Lord DafT Vader - £50 million.
Amount spent by Ministers in the last four years on ministerial cars and chauffeurs: £24 million.
Network Rail has been busy reminding drivers and pedestrians of the dangers of level crossing abuse.
Such as this story from the BBC...
Network Rail has released footage of pedestrians risking their lives at a level crossing in Dorset, including a mother pushing her baby in a pram.
A video shows the woman running across the track with her child moments before a train passed.
Iain Coucher, Network Rail chief executive, said: "The rules around level crossings are clear and simple.
"When the lights flash or the barriers are down, don't cross - a train is approaching."
However, this particular footpath crossing is not gated and the miniature warning lights, of either hue, are steady and do not flash.
Which means that here the 'clear and simple' rules don't actually apply.
And if they don't apply then the rules are not consistent.
Inconsistent safety messages and procedures actually import risk rather than reduce it.
Yet one more reason to undertake a thorough review of the methods by which level crossing users are alerted to on-coming rail traffic.
UPDATE: This from @swlines via Twitter
Although the crossing in question does have a siren that goes off before it goes red.
And that CCTV vid is from signal box.
Nigel Harris has returned to the blogosphere and he's in fine form too.
Nigel writes...
It therefore shocked me that behind the apparent sharp focus and some very expensive TV commercials, a toxic culture of complacency - arrogance, even – seemingly contaminates NR's approach to this appalling risk.
That'll be one less Christmas card for Iain Coucher to sign.
This just in from a Mr Snow...
I wonder if Eye readers might have chanced on this natty little graduate brochure from NR.
If you turn to page 13, you will see a nice picture of a most unusual set of wigwag lights.
Could this be a new standard pioneered by one of NR's recent trainees and now being rolled out nationally?
If so, perhaps it accounts for some of the crossing abuse that we see so much of these days.
Perhaps time NR had a quiet word with the graphic designers.
Spotted on the ECML yesterday 
The Eye is happy to confirm that this was not a spoiling tactic by the Continuity NXEC.
UPDATE: This from 'Concerned NR Employee'...
Standing with your back to a moving train in the middle of the line whilst using a mobile isn't terribly sensible and it's something we are specifically warned against at safety briefings.
And shouldn't he be wearing a hard hat?
Thank you 'Concerned'.
If you look closely at the picture you will notice that there is a very large object, at a stand, on the left hand running line.
Similarly, in the middle of the right hand running line, there is a slightly smaller object which is also going nowhere.
Perhaps the use of the telephone is, in some special way, connected with the complete lack of forward motion being displayed by both of these objects?
Of course the Eye completely takes on board your sensible point about the wearing of hard hats.
Although it would appear that at certain places local arrangements may apply, as illustrated below:
'Nuff said?
UPDATE: This from Dreadnought...
Not wishing to contradict ''Concerned NR Employee" but (there's always a "but" when someone says that), as I understand it the train is on the Up Fast and the car is on the Up Slow.
So the staff in question were actually facing the train when it approached and the photo was taken looking back after the photographer had passed them.
The Fact Compiler also stands corrected.
Tomorrow is International Level Crossing Awareness Day.
No, nor did Eye.
Network Rail has started sending out press releases to remind people of the death toll from level crossing abuse:
European Country/Total number of persons killed by level-crossing accidents in 2008
Hungary 118
Germany 52
Czech Republic 43
Romania 42
Poland 40
France 38
Latvia 27
Austria 25
The Netherlands 18
Spain 17
Portugal 17
Slovakia 17
Great Britain 15
But still the national infrastructure operator and RSSB cannot be bothered to create a dedicated website promoting safe use of level crossings.
One that could command pan industry support, involving NR, RSSB, TOCs, Heritage Railways, DafT, the BTP, the Highways Agency, schools, community groups, etc...
Something along the lines of Operation Lifesaver in Canada and the US.
Is it stubbornness or a 'not invented here' syndrome that stops them doing this?
Fingers out chaps and get on with it.
Our North American cousins experience a little local difficulty with a road railer.
It would appear that incompetent contractors are not solely a UK phenomena.
Posts
