Level crossings in the United Kingdom
There are around 6,000 railway level crossings in the United Kingdom, of which about 1,500 are public highway crossings. This number is gradually being reduced as the risk of accidents at level crossings is considered high. The director of the UK Railway Inspectorate commented in 2004 that "the use of level crossings contributes the greatest potential for catastrophic risk on the railways." The creation of new level crossings on the national network is now illegal, with grade separation by way of bridges and tunnels being the more popular options. The cost of making significant reductions, other than by simply closing the crossings, is substantial; some commentators argue that the money could be better spent. Some 5,000 crossings are user-worked crossings or footpaths with very low usage. The removal of crossings can improve train performance and reduce accident rates, as some crossings have low rail speed limits enforced on them to protect road users. In fact, between 1845 and 1933, there was a speed limit on level crossings of turnpike roads adjacent to stations for lines whose authorising act of Parliament had been consolidated in the Railways Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 although this limit was at least sometimes disregarded.
History
Gated level crossings were mandatory from 1839, but initial rules were for the gates to be ordinarily kept closed across the highway. The original form of road level crossing on British railways dates from 1842 onwards, it consisted of two or four wooden gates. When open to road traffic, the gates were closed across the railway to prevent horses and livestock inadvertently escaping onto the railway. The gates were operated by railway staff usually by hand or later by capstan wheel from a signal box and they were generally interlocked with the signals protecting the crossing. Where a signal box was not nearby but road traffic still warranted a full gated crossing a dedicated crossing keeper would be employed, often living in a railway-owned cottage adjacent to the crossing and in communication with the signal boxes via the telegraph system.Following trials in 1952, lifting barriers were permitted to be used instead of swinging gates by section 40 of the British Transport Commission Act 1954, although they still had to be manually controlled by a crossing keeper. This reduced the amount of time that road traffic was disrupted.
In 1955 various European countries were visited and automatic crossings examined by two inspecting officers from the Railways Inspectorate, two road engineers from the Ministry of Transport, and two officers from the British Transport Commission. They visited 46 crossings in 10 days in three countries; Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The report was signed on 14 March 1957, with section 66 of the British Transport Commission Act 1957 giving powers to prescribe "safety arrangements at public level crossings such as automatically or remotely operated barriers".
Work on automated crossings continued, with the first automatically operated level crossing commencing operation at Spath near Uttoxeter in Staffordshire in May 1961. Automatic half-barrier crossings later came into being after another enquiry abroad in 1963, consisting of a single-arm each side of the road, which block only oncoming traffic leaving the exits clear. Half barriers were originally considered to have an advantage as they had a short closure time and did not require to be interlocked with signals.
After the Hixon rail crash in 1968, it became clear that more warnings were needed for large vehicles at AHBCs. The vehicle in question, despite being escorted by police, was struck by a train whilst crossing the tracks at on an AHBC installed a year before. The changes made to AHBCs were additional information signage, telephones to signal boxes and the addition of a preliminary amber light to the pair of red lights at all crossings. The provision of telephones at these crossings had been opposed by Colonel Reed of the Railways Inspectorate, although some BR managers still installed them. Colonel McMullen of HMRI had stated in 1957 that if automatic half barrier crossings were adopted "the principle must be recognised that it is the responsibility of the individual to protect himself from the hazards of the railway in the same way as from the hazards of the road". Wynns, the operator of the low-load transporter had received a terse reply from British Rail when they wrote about a near-disaster with a slow transporter in Leominster in 1966.
The automatic open crossing was introduced in 1963. These have no barriers, a St Andrew's Cross above each warning light, and have an indicator light to show correct working. The first to be installed was at Yafforth in North Yorkshire in 1963. These crossings were cheaper than installing and were much suited to quiet country lanes, which is why many more were installed in the 1970s, albeit destined to be replaced by AOCRs as they had a greater line speed potential and were even cheaper than s. The first of these AOCRs to be installed was at Naas crossing near Lydney, Gloucestershire in 1983. These continued to be installed until the Lockington rail crash occurred in 1986, which saw the demise of this type of crossing with nearly all AOCRs being upgraded to s. Only one remains in the UK at present; on the national network at Rosarie, near Keith, Moray.
File:St bees station double-head goods DRS 2009.JPG|thumb|A full barrier level crossing in St Bees, Cumbria, that is controlled by the adjacent signal box
The Ufton Nervet rail crash in 2004 was an eye-opener for many people involved with level crossings and since then the highlight on crossing safety has increased, with crossings being closed or upgraded; most notably s being upgraded to automatic barrier crossing locally monitored status. In 2009 after the Halkirk crossing crash in Scotland, it was seen that the s on the network were the most dangerous crossing and a scheme to eradicate them was put forward. In order to do it quickly and cheaply, the full conversion to ABCL status was not done, and instead the simple addition of barriers to create an was the go-to option. Upgrades and closures still continue into the future, with newer systems such as the AFBCL being installed in Ardrossan in 2018.
The level crossing at Helpston in Cambridgeshire is one of the largest crossings in the country, crossing six tracks. The nearby Maxey Level Crossing also has six tracks, as well as Exeter 'Red Cow' LC.
Safety
After the Ufton Nervet rail crash, there have been increased efforts to review the placing of level crossings and to eliminate them where this is practicable. In the UK it has also been suggested that cameras similar to the type used to detect drivers who run traffic lights be deployed at level crossings, and that penalties for ignoring signals should be much more severe.British Transport Police typically prosecute motorists who jump the barriers, for either trespass or failing to conform with a traffic signal. A particular problem has been that the responsibility for road safety at crossings is entirely outside the control of the railways. In 2006 there were legal proposals to permit Network Rail to be involved in the road side safety of crossings. This would allow the introduction of anti-slip surfaces and also barriers to prevent motorists driving around crossing arms and, it is hoped, reduce the number of crossing-related deaths.
Network Rail is pursuing a policy of closing level crossings at the rate of over 100 a year in the interests of safety, and replacing them with road bridges or footbridges. The number of level crossings on rail lines controlled by Network Rail went from 7,937 in 2003–04 to 6,322 in 2013–14, and 5,887 by 2016–17. The number of crossings rose to 5,939 in 2017–18. This was due to the increased number of footpath crossing with and without lights compared to the number reported in 2016–17. This is due to a change in the categorisation of level crossings when they are added to the All Level Crossing Risk Model and doesn't represent a physical increase in the number of crossings on the network.
For the episode of British motoring television programme Top Gear on 25 February 2007, Network Rail staged an incident in which a locomotive was driven into a Renault Espace at around at an level crossing at Hibaldstow, Lincolnshire to graphically illustrate the dangers of "running the risk".
Types of crossing
MG – manually controlled gates
These legacy gated crossings are locally operated by a signaller or other railway staff. They consist of wooden or metal gates that close against road traffic and may be operated by hand; operated by a wheel; driven by a motor; or more recently at Redcar, gates that are electrically telescopic. All motor-driven swing gates have been removed. When closed to road traffic, the gates are detected/locked and the protecting signal/s can be released. Some crossings are also provided with road lights that operate before the gates are closed. These crossings no longer meet current safety standards and are being renewed with more modern designs of barrier crossings.On some crossings, the gates are normally closed against road traffic, and are only opened to allow vehicles to pass.