Trivia: Potentially dangerous trains to catch

[DelW]

Llanwrtyd on the Heart of Wales line is another barrow crossing station where trains pass each other - three out of four daily services cross each other there in the present timetable. However those trains exchange crews (each working back the way they came), so the trains are stationary easily long enough for passengers to cross before they move.

 

[306024]

is this just a list of stations with barrow crossings then? What, in particular, makes them dangerous?

Nothing, other than the potential for mis-use by passengers. Halesworth is a good example, especially with passengers alighting from a down train to catch the bus to Southwold. This involves walking around the back of the train. No problem if the train is on time, you simply wait for it to go so you get a better view of the up line. But if the train is 10 late, and the bus is there, people can panic that the bus will go without them.

I’m sure many will have had sleepless nights wondering why the 05.25 Lowestoft to Harwich International waits for 6 minutes at Ipswich (when it isn’t terminated at Ipswich due to DMU shortage). This is so it passes Mistley after the 07.09 from Mistley to Manningtree has departed. Passengers at Mistley have to walk across a foot crossing to access the up platform. Not a good idea to have a 170 bearing down on you at the very time passengers are arriving for the up train.

 

[alxndr]

Nothing, other than the potential for mis-use by passengers. Halesworth is a good example, especially with passengers alighting from a down train to catch the bus to Southwold. This involves walking around the back of the train. No problem if the train is on time, you simply wait for it to go so you get a better view of the up line. But if the train is 10 late, and the bus is there, people can panic that the bus will go without them.

Not only around the back, people would also walk in front of the Up train while waiting for other passengers to alight and the train to pull away. There's a decent line of sight down the down road there, but it's not particularly safe to have people walking mere feet in front of a train waiting to pull away.

Not sure if the gates have managed to change the culture as I no longer live there.