Safety warning after CCTV films lorry smashing through level crossing

Friday 22 Nov 2019

Safety warning after CCTV films lorry smashing through level crossing

Region & Route:: North West & Central

Footage has been release showing the moment a lorry smashed through a railway crossing barrier moments before a train was due to pass.

Network Rail shared the CCTV footage after the incident in Hartlebury, Worcestershire, which happened shortly before 10am today (Friday 22 November).

🎥 CCTV shows lorry smashing through level crossing barrier in Hartlebury. Trains between Kidderminster and Stourbridge are affected👷🏻‍♂️👷🏾‍♀️Our engineers are on site assessing the damage 🔧 Passengers please check @nationalrailenq or @WestMidRailway for latest travel info‼️ pic.twitter.com/rd5LtQ7nmI
— Chiltern Main Line (@NetworkRailCML) November 22, 2019

It caused disruption to passengers travelling between Kidderminster and Stourbridge while Network Rail engineers worked to fix the barrier by 2.30pm.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “Barriers at our crossings are there to keep motorists and train passengers safe. This lorry driver damaged our crossing, delayed train passengers and put their life and the lives of others at risk.

“Although it might be tempting to jump the lights or race through the barriers our message is simple - just wait. Better to be safe than sorry.”

Drivers are always advised to:

Be prepared to stop at the crossing.
Understand the warnings (lights, barriers, alarms). Download level crossings for drivers (pdf).

If the warnings activate, stop – unless it’s unsafe to do so.
Remain stationary until all the warnings stop.
Check that our exit is clear before driving across.

For more information on level crossing safety visit www.networkrail.co.uk/level-crossings-for-drivers/

Witnesses to this incident are urged to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or completing this online form.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.