Media centre

Tuesday 15 May 2018

Safety improvements complete at Cambridgeshire level crossing

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Shepreth level crossing on Station Road has reopened following a complete overhaul to improve safety.

Network Rail made the improvements to the crossing over a ten-day closure as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan to provide a safe, reliable and efficient railway.

Engineers removed the old barriers which covered only half of the road and replaced them with a new full barrier system to deter motorists from driving around them when they lower for trains to pass. The full barrier system is operated by a signaller and is monitored by CCTV.

At this type of crossing, drivers should:

• Be prepared to stop at the crossing
• Understand the warnings (lights, barriers, alarms)
• If the warnings activate, stop - unless it’s unsafe to do so
• Remain stationary until all the warnings stop
• Check that the exit is clear before driving across

The improvements will improve safety and reduce delays to train services at the crossing which sees 166 trains a day which travel up to 65mph. The current census data shows that nearly 2,300 vehicles pass over the crossing every day.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “The new full barriers will make significant improvements to both safety of motorists and pedestrians and to the reliability and efficiency of the train service at Shepreth. We are committed to making our level crossings safer as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and I’d like to thank motorists and passengers for their understanding while this important work was carried out.”

Information about level crossings and how to use them is available at www.networkrail.co.uk/levelcrossings