Well done for doing the right thing! That crossing is very dangerous and I do hope Network Rail have attended to it before something very serious happens. Thanks for filming it and I think you should send it on to Network Rail. Thanks, Ken
Yes, there is clearly an issue with the barriers here. The action that you took was correct (the Police would have informed the railway) This appears to be an automated crossing. Should there have been a signalman in the box rather than a computer.......... I guess its all about saving money. A great video that makes a very good point; this could have been much worse. It just goes to show that railways (and roads) need that human touch.
Why didn't someone just put the handbrake on, put their car in park, and phone the signaller from the phone box at the crossing? You know, like you're supposed to do?
Ok after reading most of the posts on here clearly people don't know much about the workings of the railway, which isn't surprising because it gets very complicated, i work for network rail and trust me it does get complicated lol, anyway here is a bit of information for you all ,that is if your interested, looking at the vid the barriers did fail, phoning the police was the right thing to do however it was not needed as this was not in any way a dangerous situation, the only reason i can see to phone the police is because people were running the red lights ( they are classed above traffic lights not even emergency services are allowed to pass level crossing lights when they are flashing), anyway the reason this situation is not dangerous in any way is for a number of reasons, firstly this is a CCTV crossing so the signaller in the main signal centre can clearly see on his cameras that the barriers are still raised, so what he would have done would have been to call some people to fix it (i wont go into detail as its a complicated procedure), the second safeguard is something called interlocking, this means that with the barriers raised the signals protecting the crossing cannot be cleared, so a train cannot approach even if the interlocking fails it will still hold protecting signals at a danger aspect, so there was no chance what so ever of a train arriving with the barriers raised, another note to prove that, is that both trains in the end of the video come past within a minute of each other, this could mean that they both were waiting at their protecting signals, waiting for a clear aspect, now im not saying that if you see this happen just sit there and do nothing or just drive across ( you will be breaking the law passing the red flashing lights), i would advise a call to the police (maybe not 999 as it is not life threatening) and let them know what is going on, i would advise against contacting the signaller as he or she will have their hands full with calling the staff that need to know and getting repair teams to site, also the signaller will still be regulating trains in their section, the last thing they need is for someone to phone them letting them know that the crossing is broke, anyway sorry for the long post hope it gives an insight into a bit of the railway for you :) take care and all the best.
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't these level crossings have the feature that the red lights will immediately flash with the barriers remaining raised if there's a risk that a train may run over the crossing without authority?
There's always a (yellow) phone at the crossing, which you should use to report any level crossing faults. It gets you straight through to the signalling centre. They'll be grateful for your call.
Not all crossings have a publicly accessible phone. A monitored crossing like this wouldn’t need a phone as the signaller would be watching it and would also have a failure indication on his/her workstation in events like this. Crossing phones are usually only found in locations where the crossing is automatic and un-monitored, as the signaller has no idea if something is obstructing the crossing. There will be a phone just inside the crossing boundary, to allow maintenance staff to take control of the barriers locally, but to reach it would technically be trespass for non-railway staff. As you done, best way in an emergency would be to call 999 as they can contact NR control and the BTP directly, and the local signalling fault team would be despatched. The Highway Code is quite clear though to all those nutters going across. You DO NOT PASS a flashing red light. That applies even if the barriers are up. It’s a quick route to a Dangerous Driving conviction. The chances of a train coming are almost nought, because with the barriers up, signals cannot show a green, but would you take the chance?
@@southcalder They still need a phone - so they should have one, not skimp on the cost of a phone. The Highway Code specifically says to use it to make sure it's safe to cross. The CCTV operator can't tall you if it's safe to cross. They can't tell you if they're holding the trains back. They can't tell you anything, because they're sat in a room monitoring CCTV. Relying on cops doesn't seem the best idea - I've seen them trying to deal with a level crossing issue before and they didn't have a clue about contacting the signaller. Of course if it's the only option, guess you gotta do that eh?
The solution is very simple, just use the phone on the crossing to ask what is going on. In any case these are full barriers so the signaller cannot release the railway signals until the barriers are down. Note that half-barriers or open crossings are not interlocked with the railway signals so you should definitely ring the railway signaller to tell him what is going on for those types of crossings.
There is usually a phone near to the level crossing gates which connects you directly to the signaller for that section of the railway, so the next time you come across this situation, have a look around for a yellow, white or grey rectangular box, and the signaller will take the appropriate action.
@percymerlin That is definitely so; I worked for BR on level crossings for 6 years. The ones where the danger lies are the AHBs - unmanned and automatic, they are not interlocked with the signals
Well done to the silver car for turning around. Safest decision. And for those saying look if the train is coming or not then cross. Here's something to think about, a train at 125mph would take about 8 seconds to cover 1/4 of a mile so by the time you look & return to your car & drive on it may be too late. Don't risk it. Wait or turn around!
125 mph? Many of the commenters are probably from a country that does not allow that. Here, or in my state at least it is like 80 max. for passenger and like 50 max. For freight and in the city they go like 30 max. In my city the only two lines that go through are not kept up cause they have little business on those ones. So they go like 10 mph. max. So here if a crossing is malfunctioning since they don't care about those ones, we use it as a stop sign, if no train you go. Also we don't set off the crossing and not actually cross for over ten minutes. If a train comes near they can turn them off and then back on again. So only a moron would sit that long with no train here. So there are good reasons why you would not wait here, and apparently good reasons why you would wait there or other countries. Oh, and another thing is our crossings are usually clear so you can see very far down the track without ever getting out of your car. Sometimes you can see 2 miles if it is flat enough.
The UK is very different. Often you could see a mile at best and many lines are 125mph here. As far as I know the only lines in America that reach (and exceed) that speed is the Acela Express
Thanks for posting this as it highlights a huge gap in people's knowledge. Police Officers no longer have the authority to instruct people to pass a red light under any circumstances. Assuming the people at the station don't know may have been a better starting point. If there is a telephone at the crossing that is always the best point of contact.
However, unlike most Hangmans, they were stuck for a considerably long time which has sometimes lead to trains travelling through with open barriers, which could lead to a collision as well
@@agent_605 that wouldn’t happen because you can’t clear the signals on the line unless the barriers are in the lowered position on a level crossing like this
I believe there was a mechanical problem with the barriers that is probably why the barriers on the level crossing weren’t going down they were stuck in the up position
Just so you're aware, the trains would've been made aware that the barriers had not closed. Looking at the footage once the vehicles in front of you have moved, I noticed the red truck looks rather close to the crossing. Chances are the sensors have picked up that there is a vehicle possibly obstructing the crossing so they haven't closed on it. Both train drivers would've been made aware and either instructed to stop or pass the crossing at a VERY reduced speed. Once there is a clear space for a short period of time, the barriers begin to close until the blue car obstructs the crossing until it reverses and allows the barriers the space they need.
For a start. Why weren't the barriers down immediately? How do motorists know after 5 minutes that the traffic lights are not broken? The main problem is that when a train enters the appropriate section of track the lights are automatic. Years ago there would have been signalmen spaced along the route who were in control of their section, and also in control of the crossing gates. Now we have people in control who cannot see what is going on. Great technology isn't it??
This crossing is manual (seems so) and the crossing is monitored via CCTV so they can still see the crossing. Should a crossing of this type fail to close, the signals for the trains will be locked at red thus trains can't pass.
This crossing has literally done the same thing again just a few days ago. Luckily it only stayed in that state for 2 minutes and the lights just went out
That’s dangerous you can’t turn around before the level crossing at Havant because they is gonna be a head on collision and also you cannot go through the level crossing because the red lights are flashing Percy
Just know that some but not all SIGNALS are located at a point where the signaller will lower the barrier when the train goes past it. Take Paignton for example, the signal at Hollocombe, which is somewhere close to a mile away from the crossing. When the train goes past that signal, the barriers start to be lowered, but there is another signal afetr the Hollocobe signal and it's before the crossing. If hllocombe is a singal yellow and the signal before the crossing is at danger, the barriers may be down for longer.
once I wated about 15 mins at a crossing the train finally came, I started crossing and about 20 sec later they closed, trapping me and 3 other cars on the line. it was so scary but thankfuly they stopped the trains
I'm a train driver and can confirm that you can drive trains across the crossing while the barriers are up as long as the lights are flashing. Red means stop, if you think they are broken then there is a telephone right there at the crossing (yellow box with handset inside) and all this information is in the highway code (Rule 293 & 294) The fact that virtually no-one commenting here and certainly none of the drivers know the highway code is extremely worrying.
Train crossing, signals, and gates DO sometimes fail. What I don't understand is why some towns build so many fences, buildings, and other obstructions so close to train crossings that drivers can't possibly see if a train is coming until they're already on the tracks..
because trains come so quickly it doesn't matter AND that it's completely illegal to cross. Red means stop and the penalties for driving your car across the crossing while the lights are red can be, in extreme cases (i.e. collisions) years in jail.
This happened to me in Hull, 15 minutes the red lights as on with barrier up, rang the police, they said this was not an emergency stop wasting our time.
If you are in Australia with a similar situation, *DO NOT* call the emergency number (000) but call for police attendance (131 444). You will get a positive & timely response.
If a Train driver knows theres a level crossing faults the train slows down to 30 40mph whilst passing the faulty crossing then then pass information back to the rail network operator
Would never go though a crossing with warning light like that myself irrespective of if the barriers were down or not, I'm paranoid. But that was a really long gap between the lights starring to flash and them coming down.
There's a crossing like this in lydney, but there's a train station one side of the track, so if you're on the other side and the train if within 10 minutes of the station then you miss your train. Silly idea.
Police officers can no longer direct traffic over as a level crossing. The rule book states the signaler can advise the police officer of why the barrier isn't working and what action is being taken but they are not to be allowed to direct traffic over a crossing. Users should be told to wait or use an alternative route.
After waiting several minutes (but less than ten) I would have assumed that the signals were malfunctioning and driven through. Not a safe thing to do, but these signals were "crying wolf". Events like this teach disrespect for safety devices.
2:10 Well called. Calling the BTP (0800405040) or the signaller (using the crossing telephone) would have been ideal but if you didn't know the correct number to call then you can't really be criticised for using 999/112.
Leaving that aside, I've spoken to someone I know in S&T on the railway and they say the barriers would have been interlocked with the signalling anyway so until the barriers went down all approach signals would have been red. No danger, just inconvenience all round...
Isn't that crossing actually controlled by the signal box right next door (the building on the right of the picture)? Just poke a head out of the window. As it's a CCTV crossing they would know the barriers were stuck open regardless of location, and there's interlocking so you can't set the signals for trains across the crossing to clear until it is confirmed closed. Black car was also an idiot for attempting to pull out and overtake on a solid white line.
This would happen because a train passed a signal at danger. The barriers do not lower to prevent trapping road users on the crossing. The signalbox is disused, I believe. If anyone, it's the train driver's fault, not the signaller's.
@headphones222 They'll have the contact numbers on file for the BTP and the local rail companies, so they can find out what's going on and get the situation fixed a lot quicker than the average private citizen. That said, the phone box usually provided at level crossings to call the signalmaster is probably your best bet in situations like this. They can then try to directly control the crossing AND track signals, or even get in radio contact with trains to prevent a crash & get things moving
The cameras are wide angle and can see the whole crossing the signals will not allow trains to pass unless they are down they is a bit more to crossings than just some lamps on the top of a stick
I used to live near a level crossing (Ash) where the wait was sometimes 30 minutes as the barrier was down whilst the train was in the station and stayed down until the next service arrived and several after that. I once passed a woman in a car on my motorcycle who said she had been waiting 40 minutes and was unlikely to get through within the hour. Level crossings are dangerous and the rules must never be broken but the Network Rail needs to sort out the lazy and incompetent people operating the barriers and issue what performance specifications they expect of their own staff.
The barriers should go down when a train approaches the platform because bad track conditions could cause the train to overrun the platform and run straight into traffic, but after the train has stopped at the platform, the barriers should go back up.
This happened yesterday at Cosham e.g. the gates were suspended half way. Perhaps they sense something passing under them and don't close until the object has cleared? If so I would hope it would send some kind of warning (let's call it a 1D10T code) to the signal operator. Luckily at Cosham most of the trains actually stop at the station so they would be travelling slow enough to react to any cars somehow caught on the crossing.
As a Signalman, you did the right thing by phoning the police, but maybe did it too late. If ever a Level Crossing seems not to be operating correctly, either find a publicly accessible railway telephone or railway telephone number, or contact the police, who will have the necessary contacts to get the word out to the supervising signalbox eventually (if not directly, via Control).
I don't want a war of words. here is a section of the Highway code section 297 If there are no lights, follow the procedure in Rule 295. Stop, look both ways and listen before you cross. If there is a railway telephone, always use it to contact the signal operator to make sure it is safe to cross. Inform the signal operator again when you are clear of the crossing. It clearly states IF there is a railway telephone, so it is not mandatory, and there is not one at this crossing.
you should check the highway code. If you think something is wrong you use the railway telephone situated at the crossing (yellow box) - rule 293 & 294
Perhaps someone else has already asked this question... but ... if the red lights are flashing, why don't the barriers come down? That would surely stop the cars.
This was clearly a Level Crossing failure, the lights do not normally flash that long without barriers lowering on any barriered crossing. A yellow warning light of ten minutes is too excessive, as if you get to a crossing with a yellow light showing, you don't know how long its been there? And even then, whats to stop people thinking, "Oh its only yellow, the train will be ages away."
Watch out... rule 176 applies to road junctions and not level crossings. Rule 293 applies to level crossings and in fact the only authority for passing the red flashing lights is a direction from a police officer.
I understand the reasoning for such a long wait between when the lights go off, and when the train actually comes (to allow someone to escape if stalled on the tracks), but does anyone else think 10 minutes is a bit excessive? Perhaps maybe a different warning system? Such as, a 10 minute warning with yellow lights, and perhaps a 2 minute warning with the red lights? Or a countdown timer like they have on pedestrian street crossings?
I'm guessing either the crossing malfunctioned or the signaler activated the lights and alarm in error and did not realise it until a train was due ten minutes later. Probably the latter.
There is what looks like a signal box on the other side of the railway line to you. Could it be that the bobbie was already aware there was a problem, had radioed control and got permission to wave some cars through as they knew a train wasn't due immediately? Also, may be worth checking the phone number either for BTP or for the loca police rather than bothering 999 with this sort of thing...
I will admit on a couple occasions after waiting ten minutes,then getting out of the car to look down the tracks to see where the train was,I did cross. The crossing I got stuck waiting was 1/4 mile down from the train station and the train was stopped loading/unloading passengers.
The building next to the crossing is a disused signal building I think they should bring that back. A lot of traffic uses the crossing as a sort of back road to stop congestion so I doubt it would ever be closed. The crossing had major work done to it a couple of weeks ago so problems like that might be solved now
This happened to me once (in America). The lights were flashing but no train in sight. The crossing was obviously malfunctioning. Some people went through the crossing. I made a U turn and turned around and went a different way avoiding the crossing entirely.
@@xaiano794 There usually is, but I wasn't in the mood to park my car on the shoulder amidst the long line of traffic, walk past the line of waiting cars to look for the sign with the number on it, and call it...
How thick can these people be? In ideal conditions it takes a quarter of a mile for a train at 60 mph to stop. Would you rather be 5 mins late or 30 years early?
How do you come to that conclusion? It works as its designed to. The barriers are interlocked with the signalling system. Ie, no train can occupy the track the crossing is on because the signals protecting the crossing wont clear unless the barriers are down. Its designed to 'fail safe'. A very good design I'd say! We all need to know the facts before making assumptions here.
thats uber & super TOO long to have the lights flash here in NA the lights go on, a second later the gates go down THEN the train happens a few minutes later
This level crossing is an accident waiting to happen. If it's an automatic device, it's obviously malfunctioning. If it is manually operated, the operator should be fired. A quarter of an hour for 2 trains to pass is ridiculous and an invitation to ignore the flashing lights! In the Netherlands, if a level crossing remains closed for more than 5 minutes, the train driver gets a warning and is ordered to reduce speed to about 5 Mph and to look out for traffic crossing the line.
![FNAF vs TF2 - Episode 2 [SFM]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z5b3V2-VLb0/mqdefault.jpg)
Well done for doing the right thing! That crossing is very dangerous and I do hope Network Rail have attended to it before something very serious happens. Thanks for filming it and I think you should send it on to Network Rail. Thanks, Ken
great to see at least one person out there sticks to the law and stays safe
The fact that they waited over 10 minutes amazes me. In America you'd be lucky if the person waited 15 seconds.
Here in my Country, if you got no rush, you might aswell build a tent there.
Idaho where are you from?
Yes, there is clearly an issue with the barriers here. The action that you took was correct (the Police would have informed the railway) This appears to be an automated crossing. Should there have been a signalman in the box rather than a computer.......... I guess its all about saving money. A great video that makes a very good point; this could have been much worse. It just goes to show that railways (and roads) need that human touch.
It’s not automated as quad-barrier crossings are always controlled by a signalman
Why didn't someone just put the handbrake on, put their car in park, and phone the signaller from the phone box at the crossing? You know, like you're supposed to do?
kudos for actually knowing the highway code. no one in this video did.
@@xaiano794 Ta :)
Ok after reading most of the posts on here clearly people don't know much about the workings of the railway, which isn't surprising because it gets very complicated, i work for network rail and trust me it does get complicated lol, anyway here is a bit of information for you all ,that is if your interested, looking at the vid the barriers did fail, phoning the police was the right thing to do however it was not needed as this was not in any way a dangerous situation, the only reason i can see to phone the police is because people were running the red lights ( they are classed above traffic lights not even emergency services are allowed to pass level crossing lights when they are flashing), anyway the reason this situation is not dangerous in any way is for a number of reasons, firstly this is a CCTV crossing so the signaller in the main signal centre can clearly see on his cameras that the barriers are still raised, so what he would have done would have been to call some people to fix it (i wont go into detail as its a complicated procedure), the second safeguard is something called interlocking, this means that with the barriers raised the signals protecting the crossing cannot be cleared, so a train cannot approach even if the interlocking fails it will still hold protecting signals at a danger aspect, so there was no chance what so ever of a train arriving with the barriers raised, another note to prove that, is that both trains in the end of the video come past within a minute of each other, this could mean that they both were waiting at their protecting signals, waiting for a clear aspect, now im not saying that if you see this happen just sit there and do nothing or just drive across ( you will be breaking the law passing the red flashing lights), i would advise a call to the police (maybe not 999 as it is not life threatening) and let them know what is going on, i would advise against contacting the signaller as he or she will have their hands full with calling the staff that need to know and getting repair teams to site, also the signaller will still be regulating trains in their section, the last thing they need is for someone to phone them letting them know that the crossing is broke, anyway sorry for the long post hope it gives an insight into a bit of the railway for you :) take care and all the best.
BlackriderUK if rail companies invest in up to date technology well things might be different
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't these level crossings have the feature that the red lights will immediately flash with the barriers remaining raised if there's a risk that a train may run over the crossing without authority?
I take it you don't need English writing qualifications to work for Network Rail or whatever they call themselves these days?
Train do sometimes pass over CCTV crossings with the barriers raised. It's rare but it does happen
Never had this problem with gates turned by a wheel.
Could not agree more, interlocked gates are more reliable
Lifting barriers are more efficient, however
There's always a (yellow) phone at the crossing, which you should use to report any level crossing faults. It gets you straight through to the signalling centre. They'll be grateful for your call.
This is a CCTV Crossing and I've been to this location before. I do believe there are no phones present on this particular Level Crossing.
Sometimes the phone is in a white or grey box as well. Flagging the CCTV system can be useful in getting the signaller's attention as well.
All level crossings have a phone, usually about 100 yards before. As when we are pulling loads over 25m long, we need to call for permission to cross.
Not all crossings have a publicly accessible phone. A monitored crossing like this wouldn’t need a phone as the signaller would be watching it and would also have a failure indication on his/her workstation in events like this. Crossing phones are usually only found in locations where the crossing is automatic and un-monitored, as the signaller has no idea if something is obstructing the crossing. There will be a phone just inside the crossing boundary, to allow maintenance staff to take control of the barriers locally, but to reach it would technically be trespass for non-railway staff. As you done, best way in an emergency would be to call 999 as they can contact NR control and the BTP directly, and the local signalling fault team would be despatched.
The Highway Code is quite clear though to all those nutters going across. You DO NOT PASS a flashing red light. That applies even if the barriers are up. It’s a quick route to a Dangerous Driving conviction. The chances of a train coming are almost nought, because with the barriers up, signals cannot show a green, but would you take the chance?
@@southcalder They still need a phone - so they should have one, not skimp on the cost of a phone. The Highway Code specifically says to use it to make sure it's safe to cross. The CCTV operator can't tall you if it's safe to cross. They can't tell you if they're holding the trains back. They can't tell you anything, because they're sat in a room monitoring CCTV. Relying on cops doesn't seem the best idea - I've seen them trying to deal with a level crossing issue before and they didn't have a clue about contacting the signaller. Of course if it's the only option, guess you gotta do that eh?
The solution is very simple, just use the phone on the crossing to ask what is going on.
In any case these are full barriers so the signaller cannot release the railway signals until the barriers are down. Note that half-barriers or open crossings are not interlocked with the railway signals so you should definitely ring the railway signaller to tell him what is going on for those types of crossings.
There is usually a phone near to the level crossing gates which connects you directly to the signaller for that section of the railway, so the next time you come across this situation, have a look around for a yellow, white or grey rectangular box, and the signaller will take the appropriate action.
That's the case for all automatic level crossings. This is not an automatic crossing, the barriers are worked by remote control.
@percymerlin That is definitely so; I worked for BR on level crossings for 6 years. The ones where the danger lies are the AHBs - unmanned and automatic, they are not interlocked with the signals
Well done to the silver car for turning around. Safest decision. And for those saying look if the train is coming or not then cross. Here's something to think about, a train at 125mph would take about 8 seconds to cover 1/4 of a mile so by the time you look & return to your car & drive on it may be too late. Don't risk it. Wait or turn around!
125 mph? Many of the commenters are probably from a country that does not allow that. Here, or in my state at least it is like 80 max. for passenger and like 50 max. For freight and in the city they go like 30 max. In my city the only two lines that go through are not kept up cause they have little business on those ones. So they go like 10 mph. max. So here if a crossing is malfunctioning since they don't care about those ones, we use it as a stop sign, if no train you go. Also we don't set off the crossing and not actually cross for over ten minutes. If a train comes near they can turn them off and then back on again. So only a moron would sit that long with no train here. So there are good reasons why you would not wait here, and apparently good reasons why you would wait there or other countries. Oh, and another thing is our crossings are usually clear so you can see very far down the track without ever getting out of your car. Sometimes you can see 2 miles if it is flat enough.
Old comment I know - but it's not 4 seconds, more like 8. To travel 1/4 mile in 4 seconds you would have to be doing 225mph
The UK is very different. Often you could see a mile at best and many lines are 125mph here. As far as I know the only lines in America that reach (and exceed) that speed is the Acela Express
Idiotic fail on 4th grade arithmetic !
are Trains allowed to go 125 on tracks where there are Level crossings? Or is it more like 25?
Several years ago in the Netherlands, a lack of patience at a railway crossing cost a woman and her small child their lives...
The Crossing Controller had an obsession with flashing 📸 lights
wow im glad you did something about it. that was an accident waiting to happen good job for thinking of others instead of yourself..
Look how some of the drivers got confused when the barriers didn’t come down and then decided to go through oblivious to the danger they are in
Thanks for posting this as it highlights a huge gap in people's knowledge.
Police Officers no longer have the authority to instruct people to pass a red light under any circumstances. Assuming the people at the station don't know may have been a better starting point.
If there is a telephone at the crossing that is always the best point of contact.
Hello, how did you record this film? From TV? Because it looks like that. cu Toni
I guess they Havant a clue what went wrong there?
See what you did there!
*The barriers got stuck*
Its called a Hangman. Its where somthing or someone is in the barriers path
However, unlike most Hangmans, they were stuck for a considerably long time which has sometimes lead to trains travelling through with open barriers, which could lead to a collision as well
Some ppl might not have not kown what hangman was
@@agent_605 that wouldn’t happen because you can’t clear the signals on the line unless the barriers are in the lowered position on a level crossing like this
I believe there was a mechanical problem with the barriers that is probably why the barriers on the level crossing weren’t going down they were stuck in the up position
It doesn't matter how long you wait, you cannot get your life back when your gone!
That's what the big (normally yellow) phone is for by the crossing, will connect you directly to the signaller
Just so you're aware, the trains would've been made aware that the barriers had not closed. Looking at the footage once the vehicles in front of you have moved, I noticed the red truck looks rather close to the crossing. Chances are the sensors have picked up that there is a vehicle possibly obstructing the crossing so they haven't closed on it. Both train drivers would've been made aware and either instructed to stop or pass the crossing at a VERY reduced speed. Once there is a clear space for a short period of time, the barriers begin to close until the blue car obstructs the crossing until it reverses and allows the barriers the space they need.
that sounds very informative,but im afraid you aint got a clue what ur talkin about.
Lol. That's how the unmanned signals work by me... what's the correct info then?
What if barrier / lights is treadle operated so not protected by signal how do you stop the train ie hixon railway disaster no way of stopping train
Sounds about right people too impatient with their own journey. No wonder trains are late. But that's how it goes isn't it.
For a start. Why weren't the barriers down immediately? How do motorists know after 5 minutes that the traffic lights are not broken? The main problem is that when a train enters
the appropriate section of track the lights are automatic. Years ago there would have been signalmen spaced along the route who were in control of their section, and
also in control of the crossing gates. Now we have people in control who cannot see what is going on. Great technology isn't it??
We have safety, unlock the US.
Unlike*
This crossing is manual (seems so) and the crossing is monitored via CCTV so they can still see the crossing. Should a crossing of this type fail to close, the signals for the trains will be locked at red thus trains can't pass.
I must praise you for doing what you thought was right. It makes a change to see someone with a brain use it!
This crossing has literally done the same thing again just a few days ago. Luckily it only stayed in that state for 2 minutes and the lights just went out
Well why did the barriers come down about 3 weeks later?
That’s dangerous you can’t turn around before the level crossing at Havant because they is gonna be a head on collision and also you cannot go through the level crossing because the red lights are flashing Percy
Just know that some but not all SIGNALS are located at a point where the signaller will lower the barrier when the train goes past it. Take Paignton for example, the signal at Hollocombe, which is somewhere close to a mile away from the crossing. When the train goes past that signal, the barriers start to be lowered, but there is another signal afetr the Hollocobe signal and it's before the crossing. If hllocombe is a singal yellow and the signal before the crossing is at danger, the barriers may be down for longer.
We never have to wait more than 4 minutes on our local crosing... 10 & half minutes is too long, no wonder drivers got impatient.!
once I wated about 15 mins at a crossing the train finally came, I started crossing and about 20 sec later they closed, trapping me and 3 other cars on the line. it was so scary but thankfuly they stopped the trains
I'm a train driver and can confirm that you can drive trains across the crossing while the barriers are up as long as the lights are flashing. Red means stop, if you think they are broken then there is a telephone right there at the crossing (yellow box with handset inside) and all this information is in the highway code (Rule 293 & 294)
The fact that virtually no-one commenting here and certainly none of the drivers know the highway code is extremely worrying.
Here it is illegal to cross the tracks when the red light is flashing even if the train has stopped way down the track.
That's 5 minutes I'll never get back
Train crossing, signals, and gates DO sometimes fail. What I don't understand is why some towns build so many fences, buildings, and other obstructions so close to train crossings that drivers can't possibly see if a train is coming until they're already on the tracks..
because trains come so quickly it doesn't matter AND that it's completely illegal to cross. Red means stop and the penalties for driving your car across the crossing while the lights are red can be, in extreme cases (i.e. collisions) years in jail.
@@xaiano794 he means If there was to be a Failure with the crossing
People also will look both ways after a train has passed on a single set of tracks. LOL!
I have sat at warblington gates for 20 minutes and not one train came thru, then the barriers lifted. must have been a ghost train !!!
This happened to me in Hull, 15 minutes the red lights as on with barrier up, rang the police, they said this was not an emergency stop wasting our time.
If you are in Australia with a similar situation, *DO NOT* call the emergency number (000) but call for police attendance (131 444). You will get a positive & timely response.
thank you to the driver who reported the problem.
What would cause the barriers to hangman? I hope that the crossing has been fixed now.
If a Train driver knows theres a level crossing faults the train slows down to 30 40mph whilst passing the faulty crossing then then pass information back to the rail network operator
Would never go though a crossing with warning light like that myself irrespective of if the barriers were down or not, I'm paranoid. But that was a really long gap between the lights starring to flash and them coming down.
Look how close that Ford Focus came from getting hit by the silver Vauxhall Percy
Probably shunting happening. Happens all the time in the San Fernando Valley. If the barrier is up, we just go.
Doesn't happen on the main line.
There's a crossing like this in lydney, but there's a train station one side of the track, so if you're on the other side and the train if within 10 minutes of the station then you miss your train. Silly idea.
The one crossing I railfan in Edmonton AB has a short activating distance so trains have to stop and wait for it to go down
Maybe it's a locally monitored crossing? Or maybe the driver needs to activate him/herself?
10 minutes for the lights to be flashing seems a long time especially with the slow train speed .
The music at the start of this makes me lol
It came from the theme tune of an old UK TV series call "bird of prey"..
It kind of reminds me of Escape from New York music
Transformers 1985
Police officers can no longer direct traffic over as a level crossing. The rule book states the signaler can advise the police officer of why the barrier isn't working and what action is being taken but they are not to be allowed to direct traffic over a crossing. Users should be told to wait or use an alternative route.
Why did it take so long for the barriers to come down. No wonder people take chances.
British engineering. Same reason Landrovers are an electrical nightmare.
Chris P
If it was only the electrical system on a Land Rover that is a nightmare...
After waiting several minutes (but less than ten) I would have assumed that the signals were malfunctioning and driven through. Not a safe thing to do, but these signals were "crying wolf". Events like this teach disrespect for safety devices.
IT just shows how impatient people have become and don’t give dam . About there life’s or others
I feel like an idiot for watching this ! How bored can I be....
And THEN to comment! Time to go for a walk.
3 year later, enjoy that walk?
@@TCCcompetition - preety sure it was more interesting thanwhateer this video was. Thanks for asking.
2:10 Well called. Calling the BTP (0800405040) or the signaller (using the crossing telephone) would have been ideal but if you didn't know the correct number to call then you can't really be criticised for using 999/112.
WOW, I'm glad I watched that, it was really exciting
Don't worry, at least I understood your sarcasm!
Leaving that aside, I've spoken to someone I know in S&T on the railway and they say the barriers would have been interlocked with the signalling anyway so until the barriers went down all approach signals would have been red.
No danger, just inconvenience all round...
I can see the driver of the truck and the car both going through on red
If they get stuckhalfway up, that's a Hangman.
Rise up sheeple! Throw off the bondage of your evil level crossing oppressors!
To call these people idiots is to be one yourself. Who wants to be the one that risks crossing and get killed by a train?
Isn't that crossing actually controlled by the signal box right next door (the building on the right of the picture)? Just poke a head out of the window.
As it's a CCTV crossing they would know the barriers were stuck open regardless of location, and there's interlocking so you can't set the signals for trains across the crossing to clear until it is confirmed closed.
Black car was also an idiot for attempting to pull out and overtake on a solid white line.
Sutton junction had the same issues 5/6 years ago.
This would happen because a train passed a signal at danger. The barriers do not lower to prevent trapping road users on the crossing. The signalbox is disused, I believe. If anyone, it's the train driver's fault, not the signaller's.
@headphones222 They'll have the contact numbers on file for the BTP and the local rail companies, so they can find out what's going on and get the situation fixed a lot quicker than the average private citizen.
That said, the phone box usually provided at level crossings to call the signalmaster is probably your best bet in situations like this. They can then try to directly control the crossing AND track signals, or even get in radio contact with trains to prevent a crash & get things moving
I think those cars were too close to the barriers so the barriers wouldn't go down because there's some in the way
Barriers don't care, they just go down.
The cameras are wide angle and can see the whole crossing the signals will not allow trains to pass unless they are down they is a bit more to crossings than just some lamps on the top of a stick
I used to live near a level crossing (Ash) where the wait was sometimes 30 minutes as the barrier was down whilst the train was in the station and stayed down until the next service arrived and several after that. I once passed a woman in a car on my motorcycle who said she had been waiting 40 minutes and was unlikely to get through within the hour. Level crossings are dangerous and the rules must never be broken but the Network Rail needs to sort out the lazy and incompetent people operating the barriers and issue what performance specifications they expect of their own staff.
The barriers should go down when a train approaches the platform because bad track conditions could cause the train to overrun the platform and run straight into traffic, but after the train has stopped at the platform, the barriers should go back up.
Thanks for sharing your boredom with us.
lee g lol
Well done with that phonecall! 👏🏻
This happened yesterday at Cosham e.g. the gates were suspended half way. Perhaps they sense something passing under them and don't close until the object has cleared? If so I would hope it would send some kind of warning (let's call it a 1D10T code) to the signal operator.
Luckily at Cosham most of the trains actually stop at the station so they would be travelling slow enough to react to any cars somehow caught on the crossing.
As a Signalman, you did the right thing by phoning the police, but maybe did it too late. If ever a Level Crossing seems not to be operating correctly, either find a publicly accessible railway telephone or railway telephone number, or contact the police, who will have the necessary contacts to get the word out to the supervising signalbox eventually (if not directly, via Control).
I don't want a war of words. here is a section of the Highway code section 297
If there are no lights, follow the procedure in Rule 295. Stop, look both ways and listen before you cross. If there is a railway telephone, always use it to contact the signal operator to make sure it is safe to cross. Inform the signal operator again when you are clear of the crossing.
It clearly states IF there is a railway telephone, so it is not mandatory, and there is not one at this crossing.
In the US we might wait 2 minutes at best. If it's clear, we go anyway- even if the barriers are down.
the train wouldn't even come over the crossing as the train protection system would stop it at a red signal
I don't think that I'd wait so long. But i'd simply turn around and look for an alternative path. Hope there is one.
you should check the highway code. If you think something is wrong you use the railway telephone situated at the crossing (yellow box) - rule 293 & 294
Unrelated but nice pfp
Commendable. That's called being obedient to a faulty.
Perhaps someone else has already asked this question... but ... if the red lights are flashing, why don't the barriers come down? That would surely stop the cars.
The barriers most likely got stuck. The cars can look left and right but it is still dangerous. :/
Wrong. Red means stop.
+Xaiano wrong, If a crossing is broken, they may cross with permission
+East Sussex Level crossings and supercars with permission, yes, otherwise red means stop
+East Sussex Level crossings and supercars permission is only ever given when the line is clear
This was clearly a Level Crossing failure, the lights do not normally flash that long without barriers lowering on any barriered crossing. A yellow warning light of ten minutes is too excessive, as if you get to a crossing with a yellow light showing, you don't know how long its been there? And even then, whats to stop people thinking, "Oh its only yellow, the train will be ages away."
Watch out... rule 176 applies to road junctions and not level crossings. Rule 293 applies to level crossings and in fact the only authority for passing the red flashing lights is a direction from a police officer.
The words "busy bodies" come to mind
I understand the reasoning for such a long wait between when the lights go off, and when the train actually comes (to allow someone to escape if stalled on the tracks), but does anyone else think 10 minutes is a bit excessive?
Perhaps maybe a different warning system? Such as, a 10 minute warning with yellow lights, and perhaps a 2 minute warning with the red lights? Or a countdown timer like they have on pedestrian street crossings?
It was a fault with the system, normally the barriers go down about 2-3 Minutes before a train arrives, Sometimes more, others less
I'm guessing either the crossing malfunctioned or the signaler activated the lights and alarm in error and did not realise it until a train was due ten minutes later. Probably the latter.
the problem is you can't tell unless you call him and trains are able to run across crossings with the barriers up as long as the lights are red.
There is what looks like a signal box on the other side of the railway line to you. Could it be that the bobbie was already aware there was a problem, had radioed control and got permission to wave some cars through as they knew a train wasn't due immediately?
Also, may be worth checking the phone number either for BTP or for the loca police rather than bothering 999 with this sort of thing...
I've seen that car infront of you before...
I will admit on a couple occasions after waiting ten minutes,then getting out of the car to look down the tracks to see where the train was,I did cross. The crossing I got stuck waiting was 1/4 mile down from the train station and the train was stopped loading/unloading passengers.
I never seen a problem like this before
_patience is a virtue_
Maybe a petition replacing the crossing with a bridge ?
No enough room for a bridge plus there is one just up the road where traffic can use.
*****
Why not fence off ALL near by level crossings !
The building next to the crossing is a disused signal building I think they should bring that back. A lot of traffic uses the crossing as a sort of back road to stop congestion so I doubt it would ever be closed. The crossing had major work done to it a couple of weeks ago so problems like that might be solved now
Budget cuts maybe?
I can see the drivers turning around and the Ford Focus infront of your car almost turned around
This happened to me once (in America). The lights were flashing but no train in sight. The crossing was obviously malfunctioning. Some people went through the crossing. I made a U turn and turned around and went a different way avoiding the crossing entirely.
there should be a phone or a number to call on the crossing post if you think there is a fault
@@xaiano794 There usually is, but I wasn't in the mood to park my car on the shoulder amidst the long line of traffic, walk past the line of waiting cars to look for the sign with the number on it, and call it...
@@fredashay yeah I mean really it should be the guy at the front who calls
@@xaiano794 True, but unless you're a railfan, most people don't know it's there.
@@fredashay in the UK it's right there in the drivers handbook so they should know though
Cold beer just up the street
Why are the gates up for like 6 or 8 mins? it should be like the US crossings with the gates down about 20-40 seconds before the train actually comes
i mean the gates start flashing 30 sec before train comes :P
They will have failed.
oh
Duncan Campbell
Duncan Campbell well it was st up. US Grade crossings, like UK Level crossings, have gates timed to the signals. This was obviously a prank.
How thick can these people be? In ideal conditions it takes a quarter of a mile for a train at 60 mph to stop. Would you rather be 5 mins late or 30 years early?
they called
THE POLICE
GOOD IDEA
How do you come to that conclusion? It works as its designed to. The barriers are interlocked with the signalling system. Ie, no train can occupy the track the crossing is on because the signals protecting the crossing wont clear unless the barriers are down. Its designed to 'fail safe'. A very good design I'd say! We all need to know the facts before making assumptions here.
most likely. I have those moments, but not with the Eastenders theme
thats uber & super TOO long to have the lights flash
here in NA the lights go on, a second later the gates go down THEN the train happens a few minutes later
microbusss Because something was broken. It doesn't usually take that long.
TRiG (Ireland) m
This level crossing is an accident waiting to happen. If it's an automatic device, it's obviously malfunctioning. If it is manually operated, the operator should be fired.
A quarter of an hour for 2 trains to pass is ridiculous and an invitation to
ignore the flashing lights!
In the Netherlands, if a level crossing remains closed for more than 5 minutes, the train driver gets a warning and is ordered to reduce speed to about 5 Mph and to look out for traffic crossing the line.
The barriers should have went down and lights flashing about 5 minutes before the train came, theres a problem with that crossing