Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Freight train forced to halt by bus on level crossing

A freight train was forced to stop by a First bus that was stationary on a yellow box at a level crossing on Canute Road near Ocean Village.


The drama was caught on camera by a teenager from Hythe, who passed the footage to the Echo. See the full story and video here.

First are now investigating why their driver stopped on the yellow box, which is highly dangerous and a violation of the Highway Code.
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9 comments:

  1. Muzer2 October 2014 at 14:20

    Hrm. Good job that's an AOCL (Automatic Open Crossing - Locally-monitored), since the "locally-monitored" means the train driver has to slow down to ensure the warning system is working correctly (there is a little light facing the train driver that shows that the system is functioning which they have to see in the correct state before they are allowed to pass). Had this been a crossing with interlocking with the signalling system (which would allow the signaller to be sure that the crossing is functioning correctly), the train could have been going quite a bit faster and might not have been able to stop in time.

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    1. Anonymous3 October 2014 at 08:54

      With all the modern technology now available there now at most times seems someone with it on site to film any mistake that may be made. As bus drivers seem to be at the forefront of any error, rather than other motorists,it's adviseable not too take chances such as traffic lights,rail crossings,roundabouts.

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    2. Muzer3 October 2014 at 11:06

      Indeed, I agree - nobody should take any chances. Aside from the obvious illegality it's still a massive safety risk. Unfortunately, people still do.

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    3. Anonymous6 October 2014 at 21:01

      This particular crossing has gates over the tracks which are locked shut when not in use to prevent trespassers entering network rail lines. As obviously the gates were open, common sense would highlight that a train is due and not a good idea to stop on the crossing! (As a regular user of the crossing, most would know if gates are locked it's safe to stop on the crossing a not that i'd recommend it!)

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  2. Anonymous8 October 2014 at 22:40

    This has been totally blown out of proportion.
    Yes, the driver made a big mistake and you cannot condone it. But there was never any risk of everybody being crushed and killed as the Echo made out. The whole way the crossing is set up is to avoid such a scenario occurring.
    If you want to see something serious, have a look at this Dart Berkshire managed to get killed on a crossing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/41125279@N03/3902556605/

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  3. Anonymous9 October 2014 at 08:43

    At last a decent Xelabus website plus a facebook page-PAC

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    1. Anonymous10 October 2014 at 03:14

      and the name of the person behind it is strangely familiar!

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    2. Anonybus10 October 2014 at 18:36

      Definitely much better, although there appear to be some issues with displaying timetables from Traveline.

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    3. Anonymous15 October 2014 at 08:30

      Yes looks like a familiar peson,and agree some issues with displaying timetables which I hope will be sorted asap-PAC

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