Last Thursday, 15th June, Network Rail held a safety event at Elsenham in Essex to raise the public's awareness about crossing the railway safely.
Network Rail staff were accompanied by Tina Hughes, whose daughter Olivia tragically lost her life in 2005 at a level crossing in Elsenham.
Tina has worked with Network Rail for many years, and the deaths of Olivia and her friend Charlotte have led to a transformation in the railway's approach to safety at level crossings.
The event coincided with International Level Crossing Awareness Day, and similar events were held at other level crossings around the Anglia region. Also last Thursday, Network Rail released shocking new CCTV footage of a near-miss at Elsenham level crossing in April this year where two passengers took a huge risk that very nearly cost them their lives.
Following Olivia and Charlotte's deaths, Network Rail appointed over 100 level crossing managers to manage and improve the safety of crossings.
Since then, a number of physical improvements have been made to crossings, including the installation of full barriers, red and green lights, brighter lights, and audible warnings.
In addition, Network Rail has implemented a large programme of closing crossings, with so far over 1,300 crossings being closed.
Improvements at Elsenham level crossing have included the construction of a footbridge has been built, locking the crossing gates shut when a train is coming, and providing ticket machines on both platforms.
Since April 2019, there have been 20 accidental fatalities at level crossings around the country, including six in Anglia. So far, in 2023 there have already been 42 near-misses across the Anglia region.
In light of the footage, Tina said: “I was shocked when I saw the video but I hope it will help to prevent others gambling with their lives in future. After all the improvements that have been made to this level crossing and so many others after Olivia and Charlotte's deaths, it is hard to believe that people would ignore the safety measures and warnings. I urge everyone to read instructions carefully and always respect locked gates, barriers, lights and alarms.”
Suzanne Renton, Network Rail Anglia's head of safety, said: “Our teams across Anglia were out and about yesterday speaking with passengers and members of the public about sticking to the rules on level crossings. The women in the CCTV video came to no harm thankfully, but it clearly shows how taking a risk on the railway could easily end in death or serious injury.”
Some people don’t know about the dangers of trespassing onto the railway tracks as the barriers are being lowered and the train is coming. Even drivers do fail to spot the level crossing signals when the barriers are coming down as there has been near missed.