Railway safe systems of work

[ole man]

Would like a answer to this question please.

Why can't a level crossing be used as a method of warning to track workers if they are working in the vicinity of the working level crossing?

 

[martin2345uk]

I'm not 100% sure I follow... :-/

 

[nr_signaller]

There are times in the rule book where a train may pass over a level crossing with the barriers up. (barriers failed in raised position but red road lights still working for example)

 

[tempests1]

Would like a answer to this question please.

Why can't a level crossing be used as a method of warning to track workers if they are working in the vicinity of the working level crossing?

I would say a few reasons.

If working with lines open & a lookout(s) a lookout needs to concentrate on personally viewing the lines other than when using proper equipment in conjuntion i.e. LOWS/Peewee and not using unreliable methods such as LC's as much as they should not use the movement of points as an indicator. The LC could suffer a failure and as unlikely as it seems a train could run with the barriers in the raised postion, a signaller could muck up such as Moreton on Lugg. SLW could be operation and trains could come from any direction and the barrier treadle might not have wrong direction controls so a train could literally creep up behind the workgroup if they just rely on a LC warning alarm/lights. They are many things that could happen. The lookout could potentially just watch the barriers and not the actual track. When working with lookouts the less distractions the better. If just the actual lines are observed you cannot usually go wrong add a LC into the mix and as described above could lead to complacency and a potiential for incidents/near misses etc.

 

[tsr]

I'm not 100% sure I follow... :-/

I think what is meant is:

If a level crossing is fully operational, and work is being carried out in its immediate vicinity or indeed on the crossing, but the work is such that a warning of approaching trains is required, why can the level crossing not be used to provide that warning of trains, instead of a human lookout?

I presume the answer is that there is no substitute for a human lookout. Tempests1 has added some further detail on this. I think what he/she has written is as good as you need for some example situations.

 

[ole man]

If a gang are working on track by a working level crossing why can they not use that as a warning method?.
What i mean is you would have to have lookouts etc you cannot use the level crossing as a warning for approaching trains

 

[nr_signaller]

If a gang are working on track by a working level crossing why can they not use that as a warning method?.
What i mean is you would have to have lookouts etc you cannot use the level crossing as a warning for approaching trains

..as I have answered above..
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Hardly a ssow if there are circumstances in which trains can approach without warning

 

[lincolnshire]

Its another of them little things that amuses you in the sense that staff can,t rely on a crossing as a warning for trains approaching them due to all the above items as described by tempest 1 , but a job we had to inspect a pump / water level if it failed that was on the edge of the crossing down a hole beneth a sink lid , we used to get the signalman to drop the barriers so that we could lift the lid and look down the hole to protect us from the traffic.
Another little sideline to it is if its not safe for staff to rely on barriers etc! is it safe for the public and cars to cross the crossing then?
Could one of them rouge trains running wrong direction movement when the crossing fails and the red lights fail be coming across in the road traffics way? ( A little funny haha)

 

[nr_signaller]

Its another of them little things that amuses you in the sense that staff can,t rely on a crossing as a warning for trains approaching them due to all the above items as described by tempest 1 , but a job we had to inspect a pump / water level if it failed that was on the edge of the crossing down a hole beneth a sink lid , we used to get the signalman to drop the barriers so that we could lift the lid and look down the hole to protect us from the traffic.
Another little sideline to it is if its not safe for staff to rely on barriers etc! is it safe for the public and cars to cross the crossing then?
Could one of them rouge trains running wrong direction movement when the crossing fails and the red lights fail be coming across in the road traffics way? ( A little funny haha)

Haha I see your point!