Attitudes to walking on railway lines

[InterCity:125]

At Carmarthen station you sort of have to cross the tracks

 

[InterCity:125]

At a few stations in France the rear cars of the tgv overshoot the platform and people jump onto the line and walk along to the platforms.

 

[Esker-pades]

The Diakofti to Kalavrita rack-and-pinion railway (Greece) has an end of service at 3pm, so the locals (and others) use it as a path afterwards.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Talking to SBB staff at Interlaken - who were fed up with shouting at Indian sub continent passengers crossing tracks (instead of using the subway) - point taken when a group narrowly avoided being hit by a passing freight train.

 

[Bensonby]

It can be done quite legitimately in London. Not many (one?) places though.

 

[Calthrop]

Yeah, India is terrible for this. [snip]

However, what's stunning is that this tiny network sees 700-900 deaths per year (that's compared to ca 2000 in the much larger network in Mumbai). It's quite terrifying. Most are at level crossings, it seems. [snip]

"Nothing new under the sun" department -- my mind goes to a book by my favourite travel writer, Dervla Murphy. In the mid-1960s, she was en route from India towards Nepal, on an extremely slow metre-gauge steam-hauled train of India's North Eastern Railway. The journey was punctuated and further slowed, by a young man's being fatally run over en route. Dervla felt certain that this must have been an instance of suicide; on the basis that anyone who had wanted to, would have been easily able to get out of the way of the snail-paced train. Death by pure misadventure, much more likely to happen nowadays around Hyderabad, one reckons...

 

[Mikey C]

It can be done quite legitimately in London. Not many (one?) places though.

Keep meaning to visit that location near Westbourne park, must do so after the next Charlton home match! Of course that's the only rail line in the area without a 3rd rail, which reduces the risk somewhat...

 

[jon0844]

Unless the man was actually struck, a far more useful call would have been to the police. Why stop the job!

Signaller, police then control.

Stop the trains (or caution them), get the police and other NR staff on their way, then let control know what's happening to put out announcements and prepare for possible delays.

Once trains are stopped or driving in sight, nobody is going to get hurt. Waiting for the police to arrive while the person is still on or near the line would soon have staff being asked some very awkward questions - especially if safety critical staff.

After the incident has been resolved then you'd expect it to be (speak to) police to confirm it's safe to return trains to line speed, notify signaller and then - finally - let control know.

 

[theironroad]

"Nothing new under the sun" department -- my mind goes to a book by my favourite travel writer, Dervla Murphy. In the mid-1960s, she was en route from India towards Nepal, on an extremely slow metre-gauge steam-hauled train of India's North Eastern Railway. The journey was punctuated and further slowed, by a young man's being fatally run over en route. Dervla felt certain that this must have been an instance of suicide; on the basis that anyone who had wanted to, would have been easily able to get out of the way of the snail-paced train. Death by pure misadventure, much more likely to happen nowadays around Hyderabad, one reckons...

Though I've only read one of her books, eight feet in the Andes, I've been meaning to go back and start from the beginning of her travel writing.

 

[Calthrop]

Though I've only read one of her books, eight feet in the Andes, I've been meaning to go back and start from the beginning of her travel writing.

I'm biased, perhaps -- but she is my very favourite author. I love her highly common-sense attitude vis-a-vis the modern world's iniquities / follies; and her wry sense of humour, and self-deprecating style. Would highly recommend -- well, not far from any of the books she's written. She's amazing -- aged 86, still very much "together" physically and mentally, and going on to new challenges.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It is quite common in France, especially at rural stations to cross the tracks.
Not usual in larger stations - but this one has it..

Do I recognise that station as Lourdes...?

 

[Busaholic]

A confession:- I was a broke 19 year old working the summer hols in Minehead. No money for taxis, even if there had been any working in the evenings, so, when I got friendly with a girl from Washford, in order to get her home in the late evening it was a case of walking, both ways in my case! The first time I did it, I got struck by the wing mirror of a speeding coach, despite virtually throwing myself into the hedge, so, on the second occasion and it being a moonlit night I walked along the railway track between Washford and Minehead: this was in the dying days of it being a BR branch line, and I knew services finished before 6 p.m. Now I await a knock on the door from the BTP!

 

[Calthrop]

I think you ought to be OK... in a foolish escapade in 1960, I walked along the track of the St. Margarets -- Buntingford branch line, from Standon to Much Hadham stations; getting very well out of the way of a southbound DMU encountered in course thereof. I haven't yet been haled off to trial, sentence, and punishment .

 

[tsr]

It can be done quite legitimately in London. Not many (one?) places though.

Curiously, there are quite a lot of level crossings on the west / southwest side of London, including around Acton, Kew, Mortlake etc. Not to mention various ones on the freight branches off the inner GWML, and a couple of others.

The GWML branches include a couple of foot crossings.

Also Charlton's LC in the southeast corner, and so on.

Keep meaning to visit that location near Westbourne park, must do so after the next Charlton home match! Of course that's the only rail line in the area without a 3rd rail, which reduces the risk somewhat...

There are foot crossings and full-blown level crossings all around the third rail area. There's no difference to the average pedestrian (as opposed to trespassers...) because the third rail always stops beyond the anti-trespass boards, at least a couple of metres before it gets anywhere near the foot crossing.

 

[theageofthetra]

On a recent holiday I encountered two vastly different attitudes.

In Russia, the train would frequently pull up to a short platform and everyone would just get off where they were, even if that was in the six-foot of the station throat. Nobody battered an eye-lid to a family of four dragging cases off the end of the platform, along the ballast and over an open line in order to get to their carriage without having to walk through the train.

At the other end of the spectrum, in Japan, a lot of non-high-speed lines in the countryside aren't even fenced. However, almost nobody tresspasses. Even though there's nothing stopping them, they know it's forbidden. When I was there, I saw a local news show leading with a headline about a man who'd trespassed near a station. He hadn't damaged anything, got hurt, threatened suicide or even particularly delayed trains; just walked along the track for a few minutes. That in itself was such a rare occurance that it warranted headline news!

The difference between a

 

[Bletchleyite]

In 1998 for a Scout trip we took the "Donauwalzer" overnighter from Oostende to Muenchen. At some German station in the middle of the night, we appeared to pull into the wrong platform - our train was shown on the Solari displays on the opposite side. Someone was waiting for it, and said something to a member of staff, who pointed at it. He jumped down onto the track, walked over, opened a door and boarded.

That kind of thing was normal back then.

 

[Mikey C]

Curiously, there are quite a lot of level crossings on the west / southwest side of London, including around Acton, Kew, Mortlake etc. Not to mention various ones on the freight branches off the inner GWML, and a couple of others.

The GWML branches include a couple of foot crossings.

Also Charlton's LC in the southeast corner, and so on.



There are foot crossings and full-blown level crossings all around the third rail area. There's no difference to the average pedestrian (as opposed to trespassers...) because the third rail always stops beyond the anti-trespass boards, at least a couple of metres before it gets anywhere near the foot crossing.

That freight line crossing feels different to me, more like a foot crossing in the countryside, as it's pretty deserted around there, whereas most of the passenger crossings in London tend to be on main roads or have some sort of barrier

 

[ungreat]

Stamford has a foot crossing..used it myself recently. Ring the local box before and after crossing

 

[InterCity:125]

At Poole they have a level crossing with barriers intersecting the pedestrianised high street. People lean on the barriers while th train goes past, network rail want to close it down because it’s a safety risk, but there is a bridge!

 

[DanTrain]

View attachment 50007 At Poole they have a level crossing with barriers intersecting the pedestrianised high street. People lean on the barriers while th train goes past, network rail want to close it down because it’s a safety risk, but there is a bridge!

Sounds very much like Lincoln then, where I think they have installed a significant bridge, and yet still people wait...

 

[EveningStar]

In Russia, the train would frequently pull up to a short platform and everyone would just get off where they were, even if that was in the six-foot of the station throat. Nobody battered an eye-lid to a family of four dragging cases off the end of the platform, along the ballast and over an open line in order to get to their carriage without having to walk through the train.

Reminds me of time my Russian hosts led me across the station throat at Rostov-on-Don (think a version of Crewe for southwest Russia). To them it was the most direct route to where we going while for me, brought up in a country where there is a right side of the fence, I felt very vulnerable.

And clearly well established custom and practice, as witness this postcard reprint I later found of a Soviet era poster, exhorting workers not to sit on the railway:

 

[Mikey C]

View attachment 50007 At Poole they have a level crossing with barriers intersecting the pedestrianised high street. People lean on the barriers while th train goes past, network rail want to close it down because it’s a safety risk, but there is a bridge!

There might be a bridge, but it's not suitable for pushchairs etc And many people, if not in a hurry are happy to wait and not have to climb up and down narrow stairs

This level crossing (Charlton Lane) gets busy after match days. Most people tend to use the stairs

 

[al78]

There might be a bridge, but it's not suitable for pushchairs etc And many people, if not in a hurry are happy to wait and not have to climb up and down narrow stairs

This level crossing (Charlton Lane) gets busy after match days. Most people tend to use the stairs

Reigate is the same, a level crossing right near the station alongside a pedestrian footbridge.

 

[Dr_Paul]

At Poole they have a level crossing with barriers intersecting the pedestrianised high street. People lean on the barriers while th train goes past, network rail want to close it down because it’s a safety risk, but there is a bridge!

It's the same for those on foot at Manor Road level crossing at North Sheen. It's a toss-up between going over the footbridge or waiting for the barriers to open. The problem is that one doesn't know how long the wait will be, it can be several minutes for three or four trains or much less for one train. I once was halfway across the bridge when the barriers lifted; on other occasions when I used the bridge I was way up the road before the barriers lifted. It's the same thing when I'm on my bike: do I carry it over the bridge or wait for the barriers to lift?

When it was a manually-controlled crossing many years back, the crossing-keeper would often unlock the pedestrian gates if there was sufficient time between trains whilst keeping the roadway gates closed.

 

[Segedunum]

I found it varied in Europe...

In Slovakia, I had a tight connection, as did many others who stepped off the train, jumped onto the tracks and jumped onto the other side to catch the other. I shrugged and did the same. Also had a both side release of the doors at a station near the Austrian border and I found myself on the tracks of a freight yard rather than a platform. I jumped down anyway, shut the door behind me and gave the driver a thumbs up so he knew I wasn't going to try and get back on. Away it went, and stationmaster just gave me a smile and nod when I appeared from behind the departing service.

At Brno Horni Herspice station, you basically didn't have a choice as it was just a bunch of treadways on a six track mainline. That was a laugh.

Meanwhile in Spain I was chased by security because I walked about 50 feet from the back door of a train to the end of the platform to take a photo and they still weren't happy when I explained what I had done (I hadn't passed any signs nor had I trespassed)

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's not so much a both-sides release as that older UIC stock just automatically disconnects the internal handles above 5km/h and releases them below that. Nobody has to actually do anything to achieve this.

The first time I learnt this I was leaning on the door flicking the handle and almost fell out.

 

[Segedunum]

It's not so much a both-sides release as that older UIC stock just automatically disconnects the internal handles above 5km/h and releases them below that. Nobody has to actually do anything to achieve this.

The first time I learnt this I was leaning on the door flicking the handle and almost fell out.

Interesting. And then of course there was Hungarian Railways where I'm sure there's absolutely no interlocking and the guard usually gives the nod with the doors closing at about 30km/h

 

[Bletchleyite]

Interesting. And then of course there was Hungarian Railways where I'm sure there's absolutely no interlocking and the guard usually gives the nod with the doors closing at about 30km/h

There’s no interlock on most LHCS, UK included.