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Monday 14 Jul 2014

Roundham level crossing users get safety message

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Users of Roundham level crossing in Kidlington are being targeted this week in a campaign by Network Rail and British Transport Police (BTP) to help them stay safe on the railway.

This campaign follows an incident on 8 June when a dog was killed and its owner narrowly missed by a train passing over the crossing at 110 mph. Over the last few weeks a number of ‘bad practices’ by some users have been observed. These have included members of the public stopping on the crossing and others being distracted through wearing headphones.

Network Rail has committed to closing level crossings, wherever possible, and in cases where this can’t be achieved it has pledged to make them safer. The focus of the campaign this week will be to provide members of the public with all the information they need in order to be able to use the level crossing safely. This includes staff from Network Rail and BTP attending the crossing at peak times to advise users and hand out flyers containing key safety information.

Alan Durham, level crossing manager for Network Rail, said: “Wherever possible we are looking to close level crossings and provide alternative means of going over or under the railway. However that isn’t always possible, so we need to educate people to use the crossing correctly.

“When you use a level crossing every day, it’s easy to become complacent about the risks involved. We therefore want to use this campaign to not only raise awareness of these risks, but to help people understand that by taking a few simple steps and adhering to the safety advice provided they can keep themselves and others safe while using the crossing.”

ENDS