People crossed Newark railway line - even when lights were flashing red
People “risked their lives” by crossing over a railway line – ignoring red warning lights in the process.
Lights at the Newark Castle station level crossing continued to show red on Saturday afternoon due to a fault, even though the barriers had lifted.
The problem happened just after 2pm, and British Transport Police were informed.
They in turn contacted Network Rail, which first lowered the barriers at 2.14pm. It lifted them again once a train had passed through but due to the problem continuing, lowered the barriers once more until engineers fixed the problem at around 4.30pm.
Despite the obvious red light warning, a tweet from Notts Rural Police posted later that day said: “Amazed at how many people prior to our arrival risked their lives crossing while lights (were) flashing red.”
No pedestrians or cars should pass over the level crossing when lights are flashing red, even if the barriers are up, as this would constitute trespassing. It also carries obvious safety risks.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Traffic is not permitted to enter a level crossing when the red warning lights are showing – even if the barriers are raised - and so to avoid confusion and for the safety of the passengers and motorists, we lowered the barriers until the issue with the lights was resolved, with the police on site to assist with traffic management.
“Engineers arrived on site shortly before 3.30pm and the issue was fixed shortly afterwards. We apologise for any disruption this incident caused.”
An automated system, based in Derby, now controls the barriers. Within a week of the switch, in November last year, they became stuck in the down position. An attendant was sent to manually lift and lower the barriers before they were fully fixed.