Egham level crossing mishap

[davews]

Nobody has mentioned this which happened yesterday at the Pooley Green crossing at Egham. Looks a nasty accident, don't think a train was involved.

x.com

x.com

We’ve been alerted to a road accident near the Pooley Green level crossing in Egham. The accident has resulted in delays and cancellations on trains to and from London Waterloo. Drivers may also be disrupted, but we’re unable to confirm this.

Surrey: Rail disruption due to level crossing incident

Commuters are warned of 'major delays' as the line between Virginia Water and Staines was blocked.

www.bbc.co.uk

Rail services between parts of Surrey and London faced disruption on Friday due an incident involving a car near a level crossing at Egham.

 

[PhilipRdNGauge]

Nobody has mentioned this which happened yesterday at the Pooley Green crossing at Egham. Looks a nasty accident, don't think a train was involved.

I was expecting no service until this morning but was quite impressed with how quickly Network Rail sorted this out. It looks like the last train through was 2S40 at about 1400, by the time I saw the aftermath at 1620 a flatbed truck was picking up the wreckage & second NR van had just arrived, presumably with a signal engineer to check the gates. All very slick, compared to some incidents I've seen reported on here. I assume that as some idiot smashes Pooley Green at least once a year, the local engineers have plenty of practice. Anyway well done lads & lasses.

Of course it did cause traffic chaos in & through Egham, not helped by another car driving into a traffic light outside the cinema. Police had the road up to the station crossing closed for a time whilst that was recovered. All in all a busy afternoon.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

Looking at the location and the BBC images of where the car ended up, this wasn't a slow speed mishap. The car appears to have hit and gone through a fenced enclosure with signalling (etc) cabinets before breaching the fence between same and the running line. As a driver of over 40 years experience, I would estimate this was not a case of a 20 or even 30 mph incident.

 

[alxndr]

It'll save that tree needing to be cut back regularly to avoid obstructing the pavement and wigwags though.

 

[InkyScrolls]

No way that was below 50 mph!

 

[davews]

I had my weekly trip up to London on Thursday, was originally planning Friday but luck was on my side. Yes they seem to have sorted it pretty quickly and they even routed some Reading trains via Weybridge/Virginia Water and a couple of rail replacement buses. Praise to NR and SWR on this occasion.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

No way that was below 50 mph!

say no more!

 

[Bikeman78]

Looking at the location and the BBC images of where the car ended up, this wasn't a slow speed mishap. The car appears to have hit and gone through a fenced enclosure with signalling (etc) cabinets before breaching the fence between same and the running line. As a driver of over 40 years experience, I would estimate this was not a case of a 20 or even 30 mph incident.

I'm often amazed when I see smashed up railings in 30 mph (or 20 mph now) areas and wonder how someone could misjudge a turn so badly to cause that damage. Also amazed at how badly the debris is cleared up afterwards. Bits of car can be seen for days or weeks afterwards.

 

[norbitonflyer]

No way that was below 50 mph!

The car at Egham seems to have sustained similar damage to a car (same model) that hit mine side-on after running a red light. Safety cage of my car stood up well so damage was less visible, but nevertheless terminal. The damage suggests the car was doing considerably more than the 20mph speed limit.

Nevertheless, people often overestimate speeds in accidents - the damage at Talerddig last week was caused by a mere 15mph impact, but passengers said they thought it was doing about 50.