Media centre

Tuesday 31 Jul 2018

Network Rail urges public to stay safe and keep off closed footpath in East Yorkshire

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Network Rail has issued a safety warning to residents and tourists in Hessle and North Ferriby after instances of people trespassing on a closed footpath.

The footpath, which runs between Hessle and North Ferriby, has been closed since Monday, 23 July to allow Network Rail engineers to install monitoring equipment after a crack was found near the railway embankment.

The crack needs to be monitored to see if there is any ground movement and to make sure trains can continue to run safely along the line. The footpath is open as normal on weekends.

Since the closure, safety signs have been defaced and there have been multiple instances of people climbing over the barriers to use the footpath, including once instance when someone walked along the railway lines.

Vicki Beadle, Community Safety Manager at Network Rail, said: “The footpath is closed for a reason. Safety is our top priority and whilst we appreciate that closing a footpath isn’t ideal, it’s necessary to make sure we can continue to run trains safely.

“We have worked hard to keep disruption to a minimum by keeping the path open on weekends and we need people to follow the warnings and keep off the footpath.

“We’ve seen incidents of people walking along the railway, which is incredibly dangerous and could have fatal consequences. We’re working closely with the British Transport Police to tackle this and we have improved barriers in the area, but we need people to do their bit too and treat the railway with the respect it deserves.”

A spokesperson from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council countryside access team said: "Haltemprice footpath number 4 and Swanland footpath number 2 are currently subject to an emergency closure between The Country Park Inn at Hessle and the eastern boundary of Riverside Walkway at North Ferriby.

"We realise that this may cause some inconvenience, but must stress that the closure is essential to ensure public safety whilst Network Rail carries out urgent investigation works relating to track repair. Attempting to use the footpath during the closure period constitutes trespass and could endanger life."

ENDS