Media centre

Wednesday 3 Jun 2015

“Take your time, don’t risk your life” warning issued for level crossings

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail is reminding users of level crossings in the North East, Yorkshire and the East Midlands about the importance of using level crossings safely and understanding the safety measures put in place to keep them from harm.

The call is especially aimed at cyclists, the focus of a new safety campaign launched by Network Rail today. The campaign is designed to encourage cyclists to adopt safer behaviours at level crossings to keep them and their bikes from harm.

Network Rail staff were at Nether Poppleton level crossing today, alongside their British Transport Police colleagues promoting the new campaign and reminding level crossing users how to keep themselves safe when crossing the railway track.

Britain’s level crossings are among the safest in the world, yet hundreds of incidents and near misses occur at these spots on the rail network every year. In the last five years, there have been around 140 near misses involving cyclists and four tragic fatalities.

Darren Lord is a level crossing manager based at York and was at today’s event alongside colleagues from the British Transport Police. He says “Level crossings can seem to be a hindrance when we’re going about our daily business and trying to get to places on time but they’re there to keep us safe. We’re here to remind people, particularly cyclists, how to use crossings as safely as possible.”

The new safety campaign aims to make cyclists aware of how they can reduce the risks to themselves and their bikes at level crossings. It reminds them that an amber warning light at a level crossing is a call to stop as a train is approaching and urges that cyclists dismount at footpath level crossings to enable them to better stop, look and listen for trains and prevent their wheels getting stuck in the tracks as these types of crossing had not been designed with cyclists in mind. The campaign will be delivered locally by Network Rail’s 100 level crossing managers and is being supported by Sustrans, the charity behind the creation and management of the 14,000 mile National Cycle Network.

Today’s campaign’s has been launched to coincide with International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD), a global initiative to promote safe behaviour and raise public awareness of the dangers posed by level crossings. This year’s ILCAD is specifically targeted at pedestrians and cyclists who are urged to “Take your time, don’t risk your life”.

Network Rail is being supported at today’s safety event by colleagues from the British Transport Police. Inspector Becky Warren of BTP said: “We are delighted to support ILCAD.

“BTP works hard to promote safe use of crossings through education and enforcement.

“It is vital for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to obey signalling and signage at crossings. Failure to do so endangers the lives of both road and rail users.”

Notes to editors

Network Rail is investing £100million into its programme to improve level crossing safety between up until 2019. Over the last six years it has:

• Closed over 900 level crossings
• Replaced footpath crossings with footbridges
• Installing warning lights as an additional safety measure at footpath crossings
• Launched a new schools programme – Rail Life – teaching both primary and secondary school children about how to stay safe when crossing the railway
• Rolled out safety camera enforcement vans
• Invested in new technology such as the obstacle detection radar technology
• Introduced power operated gate openers
• Installed spoken warnings to announce when “another train is coming” after one train has passed through
• Employed more than 100 new dedicated level crossing managers