The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report into a child being struck by a train at a footpath crossing in Croydon, south London.

The incident occurred at about 08:03 on Thursday, 23rd January, at Bourneview footpath crossing, near Kenley in the London Borough of Croydon.

The passenger train involved in the incident struck and fatally injured an 11-year-old child who was using the crossing on their way to school.

The child entered the crossing as the train approached. Realising the child was starting to cross the railway, the train driver sounded the train’s horn and applied the emergency brake.

The child responded to the sound of the horn, but had no time to react and move clear before the train reached the crossing.

It is thought the accident happened because the child did not recognise the risks associated with approaching trains, probably because they were distracted by their mobile phone.

In its investigation, the RAIB found that the design and construction of the crossing did not change a pedestrian’s perception in two respects:

• Bourneview footpath crossing is a passive crossing, which was not fitted with active warning systems at the time of the accident. This is a probable causal factor.
• It could also have been more obvious to pedestrians that they were entering a potentially hazardous area. This is a possible causal factor.

Possible underlying factors in this accident were that access to information relating to safe use of level crossings for schools and parents is not sufficiently widespread, and that Network Rail’s guidance for risk assessments at level crossings did not recognise the different risk profile of younger people.

After completing its investigation, the RAIB made three recommendations:

• The first is that those who set the curriculum for schools throughout the United Kingdom should work with railway infrastructure managers to introduce targeted and locally relevant railway safety lessons to pupils of all ages
• Two further recommendations were addressed to Network Rail, working with the Rail Safety and Standards Board:
  • The dangerous area at level crossings should be made more noticeable, particularly to people whose attention may be distracted.
  • The risk profile of younger people needs to be understood, particularly if it warrants different approaches to risk mitigation at level crossings.

Also identified was a situation where the provisions of safety standards cannot be met. In this case, action should be taken to alert users to the danger of individual level crossings, and to record these considerations in the assessment of risk at the crossing.

The RAIB is also investigating an incident near Birmingham in September when a member of ground staff experienced a near miss with a freight train.