15-year-old girl killed on level crossing

[MidnightFlyer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16780098

A 15-year-old girl was killed when she was hit by a train at a foot crossing in Hertfordshire, police have said.

The girl was struck at Johnson's Footpath Crossing in Bishop's Stortford at about 11:45 GMT on Saturday.

Her death is being treated as a "tragic accident", British Transport Police (BTP) said.

Concerns had previously been raised about the crossing after a previous death which led to improved safety measures being installed in 2003.

The girl, who has not been named, is said to come from Bishop's Stortford. Her next of kin have been informed.

A BTP spokeswoman said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

A gate and flashing lights were installed at the site after an 81-year-old woman was killed in 2002 while walking across the track with her dog.

'Potential for accidents'
In 2005, Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, died at nearby Elsenham station, a few miles from Bishop's Stortford, when they were hit by a train while making their way to Cambridge on a shopping trip.

Jill Sortwell, 64, who lives next to Johnson's crossing in Cannons Close, said residents had been worried about the site for years.

Fears were heightened with the introduction of the high-speed Stansted Express in 2004, she said.

"We have had quite a few fatalities on this line," Mrs Sortwell said. "It is a direct route into town.

"It is used all day, every day and people become blasé, especially the youngsters."

Mrs Sortwell was one of a number of residents who urged former transport secretary Ruth Kelly to introduce a buzzer warning at the crossing and new, track-side gates.

But she still feels more needs to be done to make the crossing safe.

"I think it is still dangerous," she said. "The crossing is better now but it still has the potential for bad accidents to happen."

Very sad, thoughts with family, friends and driver etc

EDIT - I think this is the crossing involved - http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=bis...tford,+Hertfordshire,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=18

 

[SS4]

Very sad but how on earth did she not know a train was coming?

It's the train driver I feel more sorry for he had no choice in the matter

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Deleted - see OP

 

[SS4]

OK, not the safest of crossings but surely you'd hear a train approaching? It makes me wonder that if it had been a 15 (or 17) year old boy then would he have been judged as up to not good?

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

I do have to agree with SS4. I feel sorry nonetheless but wonder how you can't tell if a train's coming? Then again with a lot operating in that area you must be immune to the noise.

 

[district]

Lets not tarnish the girls memory, for whatever reason she might not have seen the train. Perhaps headphones, or simply immaturity.

For whatever reason it happened, it happened, and it is that we must look and remember her for, and our thoughts with the girls friends and family, and of course traincrew/other passengers.

 

[chappers]

I saw the aftermath of this yesterday - saw two police officers running across the field towards the crossing as I was on my way home. I wondered what had happened, and feared the worst which has unfortunately come true. My thoughts go out to the girl's family.

Even more unfortunately its not the first incident at this location (as stated in the BBC report) and there are always flowers laid there. Its a wicket gate crossing with red and green lights and audible warning. There is a deceptively tight curve in the Country direction. Without knowing the full details, if someone was to find themselves on the crossing for whatever reason with a london-bound train approaching they wouldn't have any time to react.

 

[150222]

An unfortunate incident indeed and my heart goes out to all involved.

On a side note why does it say the Stansted Express started in 2004? I thought it started about 20 years ago.

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

Lets not tarnish the girls memory, for whatever reason she might not have seen the train. Perhaps headphones, or simply immaturity.

If it was headphones and they found them at the scene/whisked away 10 miles by the train dependently, there must be a campaign against headphones and the like. Just my two cents.

For whatever reason it happened, it happened, and it is that we must look and remember her for, and our thoughts with the girls friends and family, and of course traincrew/other passengers.

Yes.

 

[Bald Rick]

Tragic news, as all such events are.

This is the very crossing where there is a local campaign rallying support against Network Rail's plans to build a footbridge. Beggars belief.

 

[Eagle]

If it was headphones and they found them at the scene/whisked away 10 miles by the train dependently, there must be a campaign against headphones and the like. Just my two cents.

Uh? Are you saying ban headphones? Or just ban them on railway property (which is ridiculous)?

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

This is the very crossing where there is a local campaign rallying support against Network Rail's plans to build a footbridge. Beggars belief.

That's bull that. Now it's led to a death when will these people ever learn? I'm in favour.

 

[amcluesent]

We should wait for the inquest to determine if the warning lights/sounds were functioning before going OTT with the yer 'elf'n'safety.

 

[O L Leigh]

It's a tragic waste of a life, but some of the discussions so far do not dignify the situation and neither are they supported by the facts.

This crossing has wicket gates, red/green warning lights and a klaxon, primarily because of the curvature of the line but also because of the level of usage it gets. You do not suddenly "find yourself on [this] crossing" with a train bearing down on you without warning. If you are on the crossing when a train reaches the "strike in point" to activate the crossing equipment there is still ample time to reach the other side safely.

I won't say it openly, but I think you can guess where I stand on this incident. I know the driver involved and quite a bit about the incident itself.

**EDIT**

Just as an additional thought, I doubt the crossing equipment is going to be found to be faulty. I'm not sure of the mechanism for this, but we do get cautioned by this type of crossing when the signaller believes the equipment is not functioning correctly. This didn't happen yesterday, so I'm sure the investigations will find no fault either.

O L Leigh

 

[SS4]

Uh? Are you saying ban headphones? Or just ban them on railway property (which is ridiculous)?

I interpreted is as sarcasm but I may be wrong.
We're not helped by the taboo surrounding death with inhibits an open discussion, namely the possibility that the deceased may have been to blame.

O L Leigh said what I was trying to say far more articulately though

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

Uh? Are you saying ban headphones? Or just ban them on railway property (which is ridiculous)?

No, a campaign to warn people.

 

[amcluesent]

Nope. That's Johnsons FP Crossing.

That's where the local paper is reporting the fatality occurred. Seemingly a football game at Grange Paddocks may be significant.

 

[GB]

Herts and Essex Observer: The victim was struck by a London-Cambridge passenger service shortly before midday at the notorious Johnson's Footpath Crossing, at the back of the Grange Paddocks playing fields.

How exactly is this crossing "notorious"???

 

[adc82140]

You cannot legislate, but you can educate. NR have done the level crossing safety campaign for cars, perhaps it's time for one for pedestrians on foot crossings.

 

[Chew Chew]

That's where the local paper is reporting the fatality occurred. Seemingly a football game at Grange Paddocks may be significant.

With the train heading north, and from looking at the link MattE2010 put up for where the crossing is, it looks like the poor girl should have had a decent line of sight for the train for a fair old distance.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

deleted

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I should add I am not 100% sure that the link I put up in the OP was the correct crossing, but from what I could see and deduce it is.

 

[O L Leigh]

Looks like Thurston.

This is the argument I have over and over with people. You wouldn't step out into the road without first looking and checking it is safe, so why do people find this principle so hard when it comes to the railways? If there is an indicator warning you of an approaching train and telling you that it is not safe to cross, why would you ignore it? While education is certainly helpful, there comes a time when something is so bleedin' obvious as to insult the intelligence.

Familiarity with this location should tell crossing users that it is a busy stretch of line where trains frequently pass. These are well-used crossings that are perfectly safe when used correctly. Red means danger, stop. There is plenty of time to get clear.

O L Leigh

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I am not one to eschew the H & S brigade and the farcical extremes they sometimes go to but there are instances when I think even fully track accustomed and competent staff would wonder regarding some of the crossings. The one on the current avatar is at an unstaffed station which everyone using the Westbound platform has to use. There is a green light/red light set up to warn of approaching trains but as night looms and the temperature drops ice makes the crossing potentially treacherous and easy to slip on. Most passenger trains call but while I was waiting there a train laden with ballast and concrete sleepers hammered through not stop at about 70.
Maybe we are nannying everyone too much. We can't be trusted to open and close train doors ourselves anymore, we can't be trusted not to hang our heads out of windows - but we are fine to let people walk across a wooden crossing in the path of 350 tons of steel ? The problem with walking on the track is when you get used to it sometimes complacency creeps in and that is when you are most at risk.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Looks like Thurston.

This is the argument I have over and over with people. You wouldn't step out into the road without first looking and checking it is safe, so why do people find this principle so hard when it comes to the railways? If there is an indicator warning you of an approaching train and telling you that it is not safe to cross, why would you ignore it? While education is certainly helpful, there comes a time when something is so bleedin' obvious as to insult the intelligence.

Familiarity with this location should tell crossing users that it is a busy stretch of line where trains frequently pass. These are well-used crossings that are perfectly safe when used correctly. Red means danger, stop. There is plenty of time to get clear.

O L Leigh

Difference is if you slip over crossing the road you have a chance also your standard road surface doesn't have smooth slippery rails to slip on and there is a chance that oncoming vehicles could stop, swerve or avoid you.
When comparing crossing a railway to crossing a road you should compare it to busy A road as opposed to your average suburban street.

 

[O L Leigh]

Most foot crossings are no longer simply wooden boards or redundant sleepers but have an anti-slip surface. Likewise the rails are either flush with the crossing surface or slightly recessed, and are in any case not that wide. The chances of slipping are, therefore, greatly reduced.

What about manhole covers, drains or tar banding, all of which can become extremely slippery? What about all the sudden changes in the level of the road surface that can catch out the unwary? We're not comparing like for like, so please lets keep this relevant.

**EDIT**

Just to put some numbers onto it, the RSSB recorded just four pedestrian fatalities at crossings during 2010/11. None of these were attributed to slips, trips or falls (click, then scroll down to Table 26 in para 9.2.3).

For those not interested in reading the whole thing, two were dog walkers who chased their pets onto the line in an attempt to retrieve them, one was a jogger using earphones while the last was a young man who vaulted the barriers at Enfield Lock in an attempt to evade the police (again, struck by a colleague of mine).

Just for completeness, I will concede that there were 13 recorded minor injuries resulting from slips, trips or falls on crossings. By contrast there were 5555 recorded minor injuries on the railways, 91% of which occurred at stations. Of this number, around three quarters were slips, trips or falls.

O L Leigh

 

[142094]

There was a case on the Tyne Valley line where a lad was using a foot crossing and it was found that he'd been listening to his headphones at the time.

Although I have the utmost sympathy for the person's family, the driver, other rail staff and the emergency services, there is a point where you really think that nothing more can be done to prevent accidents like this. If people are not going to treat the railway with the respect it deserves, then we can't do any more. The last step would be to close the crossing completely, and I bet the same people would be in the papers complaining about the lack of access.

 

[Kryten2340]

Surely if the crossing is a direct route into town then building a bridge then closing the crossing is the solution?

 

[O L Leigh]

But it isn't, and there is already a footbridge in place that could just as easily been accessed.

O L Leigh

 

[amcluesent]

A 15-year-old girl was knocked down and killed by a train while listening to her iPod, police believe.

Katie Littlewood did not hear the train or notice the lights and alarms at Johnson's Footpath Crossing in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the teenager was listening to music as she crossed the railway line on Saturday morning, after a music player and headphones were found at the scene.

Network Rail said: 'As a matter of course the crossing was tested immediately after the incident and it was found to be in full working order.'

 

[GB]

Why does every news report have to link in with the previous incident at Elsenham?:roll:

...and some of those Daily Mail comments...:roll: