Dave Thompson MSP

Highlands and Islands MSP Dave Thompson has submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament calling for the public to be protected at all 23 open level crossings in Scotland with the addition of barriers following a highly critical report into a triple fatality at a Highland level crossing.

The motion follows the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) of the Department of Transport report on its investigation into the accident in Halkirk last year which found that the company responsible for maintaining the rail network had ruled out the possibility of installing barriers at Halkirk without considering the four previous accidents at the same crossing, one of them fatal, within the recent past.

Instead a decision was taken merely to ask Highland Council to repaint faded while lines on the road and move a speed limit sign farther from the crossing. However further recommendations to repair a faulty surround on the warning signal, to place rumble strips on the roadway and erect a series of countdown markers before the crossing were not carried out. A recommendation that an assessment should be made of the need for barriers on the crossing was made but this action was ruled out.

Following this failure to add barriers to the crossing 81-year-old Angus MacKay, of Inverness, failed to notice a flashing warning signal as he drove across the crossing on September 29 last year and his Nissan Micra was struck by the Inverness to Wick service, killing Mr MacKay, his wife Margaret, also 81, and his brother Donald, 66.

The RAIB report noted that, although Mr MacKay's eyesight was deficient, a barrier across the path of his car would have been a clearer indication that he should stop than the flashing red lights used at the crossing. The investigators criticised the method used by Network Rail to rule out installing gates.

The RAIB said this consideration of whether barriers were necessary had taken into account only a limited cost / benefit analysis and had neglected to consider the previous history of accidents at the same crossing in the recent past. Using this limited range of factors, the company decided against the addition of barriers but the inspectorate noted "more costly risk reduction measures might have been justified (such as upgrading the crossing by fitting barriers) if all the relevant factors at Halkirk crossing had been taken into account".

Mr Thompson stated that this report strengthens his long-running campaign for public safety to be improved at level crossing through the addition of barriers, a move Network Rail has consistently resisted.

"Again we have a report that clearly shows that a fatal accident may have been prevented if barriers had been present at the level crossing involved," Mr Thompson said.

"It is imperative that Network Rail reconsiders its decisions not to add barriers but this time takes into account all the factors recommended by the RAIB rather than the purely cost / benefit analysis used to date.

"The motion to the Scottish Parliament has been prompted by Network Rail's determined resistance to consideration of barriers. My hope is that all politicians with an interest in the safety of the public can unite behind this call for the measure that gives the greatest chance of reducing the tragic death and accident toll at these unprotected level crossings."

Since being elected to represent the Highlands and Islands in 2007, Dave Thompson has campaigned for the installation of barriers on level crossings and earlier this year concluded a major public consultation to measure public support for his campaign. Almost 14,000 survey forms were distributed to householders near this type of open level crossing and almost 2,500 were returned, with 86 per cent calling for barriers to be added.

Note:

Motion:

Scotland's Level Crossings Need Barriers Now
That the Parliament acknowledges the report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch into the fatal accident in Halkirk in September 2009; notes that the report highlights the failure of Network Rail to learn safety lessons from four previous accidents at the crossing and that the company should have taken these previous accidents into account in its consideration of the installation of barriers; further notes that investigators found that safety measures that were identified during previous inspections had not been implemented by Network Rail at the time of the accident; urges Network Rail to upgrade the level crossing at Halkirk immediately and install barriers; further calls on Network Rail to seriously consider the upgrading of all 22 other open level crossings in Scotland and to produce a timetable for this and the installation of barriers; calls on the Scottish Government to assist Network Rail in the funding of these vital safety measures; considers that barriers can give the highest level of guarantee of public safety at level crossings, and considers that the safety of level crossings across Scotland is of paramount importance to the safety of motorists, train drivers and their passengers alike.