A couple posing for photos on one of Rye’s level crossings and people walking along nearby railway tracks are among shocking footage recorded by a CCTV camera.
The shots of trespassing on the railway have been described as a “blatant disregard for safety” by Network Rail, who installed the camera at the Mill Lane pedestrian crossing. Two people have died at the crossing in recent years on a stretch of line where trains can reach 60mph.
You can watch the video here.
Several incidents of people walking on the tracks or playing on the crossing next to the River Tillingham between the town and Gibbet Marsh have been reported to British Transport Police (BTP). Measures put in place to tackle the issue include extra signage, installing cameras, and hosting educational events.
James Neeson, Network Rail level crossing manager, says trespass incidents cause issues for everyone using the network. “An individual could sustain life-changing injuries and in the worst-case scenario, loss of life. A photo for social media is never worth the risk of putting yourself in this extremely dangerous situation. It’s disappointing to see people blatantly disregarding their own and others’ safety.”
The Mill Lane crossing may only see two trains an hour most days but Nic Dooris, Network Rail’s community safety manager, says people need to regard it as a busy track. “It’s crucial that the level crossing is only used as a means of getting across the railway, and under no circumstances should people loiter or play on crossings and put their lives at risk.”
Anyone who witnesses any trespass incidents is encouraged to report what they’ve seen to BTP via the text service on 61016.
Image Credits: Network Rail .
This made my blood run cold: teenagers will unfortunately always break the rules, but to see adults carrying their young children and leading them along the tracks is beyond belief. I can’t even begin to imagine the potential horror and grief involved with the risks taken here.
Should an accident occur it’s not the fault of the rail company or access across the railway its the fault of these idiots themselves. Stupidity will beat common sense every time.
I find the message from Network Rail’s community safety manager to be a bit weak.
When someone on the tracks is hit by a train travelling at 60mph the result is highly likely to be catastrophic. Spare a thought for the train drivers who can experience life changing psychological trauma.
Exactly.
Irresponsible, thoughtless behaviour.
My heart and sympathy goes to train drivers.
Stupid bravado attitude. They should close that crossing.
I can never understand why they hide the identity of these idiots.
If the footage and identity of these people were to be posted on social media, their family and friends would hopefully tell them how idiotic they are.
A heavy fine would be a deterrent.
I never quite understand why there is such a big deal about this. Those people are being imbeciles for sure, but are the two fatalities referenced in the article due to trespass? Last year, there were 10 fatalities due to trespassing on the mainline network in the UK, so it would be astonishing if 20% of these occurred at this very crossing. In comparison, there have been 274 suicide fatalities on the mainline network in the same period. Surely the focus by Network Rail for educating and supporting the public ought to be on the latter figure?
And also, to put the figures into context: More than 400 pedestrians are killed every year on UK roads, with more than 18,000 injured. The numbers have been increasing, not decreasing. Why not make the roads safer as a priority over train tracks? I regularly need to walk along Deadman’s Lane between the Grove and the footpath leading up to Fair Meadow. There is no pavement or lighting and few motorists appreciate that pedestrians have priority over them, technically they need to leave a 2m gap when passing, which is clearly impossible.
I have a very vivid memory, when I was about eight or nine years old, of the school secretary at the then primary school interrupting a lesson to ask a boy in our class to come to the office. After he had gone our teacher, who had obviously been pre-briefed, told us that his brother had been killed by a train as he was using this crossing. Health and safety issues didn’t seem to have the same high priority as today, but this boy’s death was a very big deal and the dangers were discussed in every home over the ensuing days.
As the editor has permitted publication of Mr Manning’s shocking views (above), I hope that my shock at learning of them will be granted similar recognition. I will leave it to those having a better mastery of the English language than I do to respond more fully.
Hello John. Thank you for your comments, I largely agree with you. My father was at the Farnborough Airshow crash in 1952 and had a split second to see where most debris was falling and ran the other way and later saw people dead where he had been standing. When I was at primary school, my school teacher was killed over a weekend by a rally car ploughing into the crowd which he was in. As you say, health and safety has thankfully made many of these things much safer and the risk is much reduced, including in relation to the event you have described.
The point I was perhaps a bit clumsily making is that there is a mismatch been where society focuses its limited funds in the context of managing risk. Network Rail is trying to manage away a residual risk – human stupidity – when there are actually more pressing things it could be doing, for instance widening the level crossing at Ferry Road where the pavement is dangerously narrow and could easily lead to an accident even where everyone is behaving sensibly and within the law.
As Peter Connock has pointed out in his article ‘Governing Rye – time to change gear?’, there is an increasingly disjointed approach to making decisions locally and Network Rail are guilty of that too. Only a few years ago, they were proposing a pedestrian bridge parallel to the rail line at Mill Lane, with an underpass footpath below the line, so as to do away with both pedestrian crossings. Whilst ticking their box of making the track safer, it would have cost a fortune and had minimal benefit to the community. Conversely, a proposed pedestrian/cycle bridge linking Tilling Green to the school area, which is identified in the local neighbourhood plan as a much higher priority, is unlikely to ever happen.
A specific worry I have in relation to the article is that Network Rail might be intending to close the pedestrian crossings in order to tick their safety box. One respondent above is suggesting that would be a good idea – it is not. It would be hugely detrimental to the wellbeing of residents, as active travel is far superior to car travel from a health and environmental perspective.
To add to John’s lived experience and lasting memory, and to help Mr Manning understand why such a big deal is made of railway safety. The emotional, human and financial costs are disproportionately high. Train drivers, passengers, station staff, disruption to the rail network and roads… the list goes on.
Safety awareness is the most effective tool to prevent incidents occurring. This message should never be diluted because someone is easily offended, shocked, or believes its a low priority.
Dominic manning was right to highlight the dangers of Deadmans lane this busy short cut into town should have had a footpath installed before any development took place down there just back in the summer a van crashed into the brick wall of a property on the bend down there, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, time for East Sussex Highways to address this problem with traffic calming measures,before someone gets killed down there.
Absolutely agree with Dominic Manning’s comment, especially with regard to sensible prioritisation rather than a ‘tick box’ approach.