Media centre

Monday 9 Sep 2013

Safety improvements at Ballast Hole Level Crossing

Region & Route:

Pedestrians wishing to cross the railway line at Ballast Hole in Lincolnshire now have a safer, alternative route after Network Rail engineers installed a new footpath linking Ballast Road crossing and nearby Doddington Road crossing.

The new route has been installed following reports of a number of near-misses at the crossing which connects Doddington Road and Ballast Hole.

A recent census at the crossing recorded 1,800 people using the crossing in a week, many of them with bicycles, dogs etc. 7.5 per cent of users were wearing or using mobile audible devices when they crossed the railway, a subject which has been subject to a previous awareness campaign by Network Rail (see http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/PROFESSOR-GREEN-STOP-LISTENING-TO-MY-MUSIC-AT-A-LEVEL-CROSSING-1b23.aspx)

Phil Verster, Route Managing Director of Network Rail, said: “We regularly receive reports of pedestrian misuse at Ballast Hole with people putting themselves in danger from trains travelling on the line. We are so concerned about the behaviour of crossing users here that we have opened an additional alternative path on our land and are encouraging all to use it. We continue to work with Lincolnshire County Council to seek permanent closure of the level crossing.”