Unless the man was actually struck, a far more useful call would have been to the police. Why stop the job!
By reporting to the signaller, as is the required procedure for passengers/public being on the track inappropriately, the job will often not be stopped, but the information can be used to take other actions required... which could be:
- Running the next trains on each line at caution, so that any repeat behaviour (a regular occurrence) from the trespasser does not get them killed.
- Calling appropriate resources within the BTP, TOC staff, Network Rail and trespass prevention teams, as needed.
- Logging the issue internally, including an internal safety incident notification, plus any liaison needed for intelligence gathering. Such intelligence can rapidly build a picture of anybody matching descriptions of suicidal people, suspicious people and so on, whether said intel is being gathered in real time, or based on historic events which match up.
- Checking the welfare of staff involved and gathering first-hand reports.
If you call the police, none of the above will happen immediately, and the reaction will be much delayed whilst everyone realises they need to contact NR Control, especially if local forces get involved (which, for example, will happen if you call 999 - the initial 999 operators are largely useless if you need to speak to BTP, and refuse point-blank to do anything other than put you through to the local contact centre’s officers, who in my experience take a small age to even work out where a railway station is).
There are a few in the UK which still use barrow crossings - Tywyn is one, it feels a bit wrong crossing with a train there.
Plenty of such crossings exist at smaller stations, plus numerous crossings on very busy mainlines, some of which don’t even have anything mounted on the track ballast for people to walk on. The ECML, BML and others are only just starting to get rid of some of their footpath crossings. They are a mixed blessing - at least people are more likely to wander round the track if there’s fencing interspersed with designated and recognised crossings, and at least foot crossings are monitored for risks and can be closed in order of risk. However, of course, they can end up being used as busy pedestrian shortcuts if something like a housing estate or school opens nearby, and even if not, anything which is left unattended is bound to be misused by someone, ‘cause nobody’s looking...
Does it come down to attitude to risk in different cultures? The UK seems to be way over the top in many respects but in the long term it must be the right way of doing things. Here in Belgium you often see a maintenance team working on points on a running line. The flagman blows his horn and they all step back out of the way.
Working on the track is also carried out in a similar way on a lot of UK infrastructure. It’s not unusual to see staff working on the points at junctions such as Windmill Bridge (one of the busiest locations for heavy-rail operation in Europe) with lookouts using audible or flag warnings. It does very much depend on risk assessments and places of refuge at each location, though.
