Media centre

Friday 19 Feb 2016

Drop-in event to present plans to renew Ashtead level crossing and improve safety at Green Lane level crossing

Region & Route:

| Southern

Residents in Ashtead are invited to learn more about the renewal of Ashtead level crossing and discuss the safety of Green Lane footpath crossing at a drop-in session on Thursday, 25 February.

Network Rail will answer questions and provide updates to residents between 1.30pm and 8pm at Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall, Woodfield Lane. Residents can drop-in to the session at any point during these times.

Ashtead Crossing, at Woodfield Lane, is being renewed in July 2017 to improve the safety and reliability of the crossing.

Green Lane footpath crossing is the highest risk footpath crossings on Network Rail’s Wessex route, a route which includes trains running to and from London’s Waterloo station, because people using the crossing are only protected by warning signs.

Alex Boatfield, Project Manager for Network Rail, said: “Through our £40bn railway upgrade plan, we are working to deliver a safer and more reliable railway. Green Lane footpath crossing is a high-risk crossing as the only safety feature at the crossing is signage. This risk is exacerbated by the frequency and speed of the trains running over the crossing. We would like to discuss a range of potential solutions and, at the same time, present our plans to renew the level crossing at Ashtead.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

• The Community Engagement Session will take place on from 13:30-20:00 at Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall, Woodfield Lane, Ashtead, Surrey KT21 2BE.
• There are approximately 6,100 level crossings in Britain. Level crossings were built with the Victorian railway more than 100 years ago when there were far fewer trains, at slower speeds and fewer people and road traffic. If you were building the railway now, you wouldn’t put in any level crossings.
• There are many different types of crossings, all with different safety measures in place from signs, to barriers and klaxons.
• Network Rail is investing £100m in the next three years to improve the safety of level crossings. The ongoing programme of activity includes:
  • Network Rail’s dedicated community safety team which aims to reduce railway crime
  • A level crossing closure programme which has seen nearly 1,000 crossings closed over the past six years
  • Investment in upgrading and improving level crossings
  • Mobile camera enforcement vans
  • Developing better and cost-effective ways of detecting and recording level crossings misuse