Media centre

Wednesday 18 Jul 2012

Network Rail and British Transport Police mobilise to target level crossings misuse

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who try to misuse level crossings in Wales have been warned.

Network Rail has just taken delivery of a new mobile enforcement vehicle for its routes in Wales in a joint initiative with the British Transport Police.

Network Rail is funding the vehicles, which will be used by the British Transport Police to target misuse at level crossings.

Training for BTP officers is now taking place and they are expecting to use the vehicle for 40 hours a week.

Dr Paul Clark, Network Rail’s safety improvement manager for Wales, said: “We will be looking to deploy the vehicle at high risk locations and places where there has been a history of misuse, to raise the profile of this issue and to act as a deterrent.

“We have identified initial locations that we wish to target and are developing a plan with BTP in Wales for roll out in the coming weeks. We see this as a really positive step.”

The Ford Transit van will go to level crossing locations to act as a deterrent – but ideally Network Rail and the BTP would like to catch no-one.

Inspector Gary Ash, of British Transport Police’s Welsh Sector, said: “This is not about prosecution but prevention. We’d like to change the behaviour of motorists and pedestrians who misuse level crossings.

“Level crossing misuse risks people’s lives, causes huge delay and disruption to both road and rail users, and costs millions of pounds each year.”

 

 

 

Note to Editors:

1. The new mobile enforcement vehicle will be on display at the Network Rail safety stand at the Royal Welsh Show, the UK’s largest agricultural event, at Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells, from 23-26 July 2012.
2. There are already three MEVs operating on routes in north London/Anglia, the South East and Scotland.
3. Ten more vehicles are due to roll out by the end of the year to cover other routes in England and Wales.