Public events to showcase plans to close level crossings in Hertfordshire: stop look listen level crossing sign

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Public events to showcase plans to close level crossings in Hertfordshire

Region & Route:
| Eastern: Anglia
| Eastern
| Southern

People across Hertfordshire are being invited to a consultation event in Harlow to see Network Rail’s initial plans to potentially close or change the use of 9 level crossings across the county by altering the public Rights of Way network.

This is part of a wider Anglia consultation across the region, which has identified around 130 crossings that could be closed or modified.  Closing level crossings and diverting to alternatives will make the railway safer by removing the point where people can come into contact with trains. The closures will also help improve reliability and enable separate, potential future developments for faster and more frequent services. None of the crossings in this proposal involve closing public A or B roads.

The crossings identified for potential closure include those where:

  • there are private rights only
  • where pedestrians/cyclists/horse riders can easily be diverted to where a nearby alternative exists or
  • where a new public route to a nearby alternative can be provided
  • where a crossing could be changed to be used by pedestrians/cyclists/horse riders only

Richard Schofield, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “I’d encourage anyone interested to come along see our initial plans, ask our level crossings team questions and share any concerns or ideas with us.  We know that public Rights of Way are an important part of country life in this region, and where possible, we will maintain this connectivity with the countryside, and in some cases will improve the Rights of Way network.

“Our plans to close level crossings propose small changes to how people cross the railway but the closures will help us reduce the risks that level crossings pose, improve safety and reliability of the railway for the future.”

Consultation sessions will take place across the region from next month, with further consultations taking place in late summer. The results of the consultation will feed into agreed plans that will then be put forward under Transport & Works Act Orders early next year. Closures, if agreed, will take place in 2018 and 2019.

Network Rail will continue to upgrade or close its highest risk crossings as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan.

Notes to Editors

Mott MacDonald has been appointed as the principle contractor to deliver the consultation.

Event name / location

Venue

Date

Public time

Harlow

Moot House

Friday 24 June

14:00-19:00

More information can be found at www.networkrail.co.uk/anglialevelcrossings

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - Katie Mack
Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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