Rail crossing which claimed life of west Cornish grandmother to close
A LONG ROCK railway crossing on which a grandmother was killed when she was struck by a train last October will close tomorrow.
Cornwall Council will enforce an emergency closure request from Network Rail which will keep the crossing closed until a decision is made on how to improve its safety or to close it.
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Rail crossing which claimed life of west Cornish grandmother to close
A petition was started in the village this week to keep Mexico footcrossing open after Network Rail supported a coroner's recommendation to close it following an inquest in to the death of Jeannette Nicholls.
The 73-year-old grandmother was killed when she was struck by a train heading to Penzance last year.
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Hers was the second death on the crossing and followed five near misses and two other incidents to have occurred on it since 2007.
A Cornwall Council spokeswoman said a temporary diversion, which takes walkers 200m to a level crossing west of the footpath, has been put in place.
She said: "The closure will remain in effect pending an examination of all options to make the crossing safe including the option of closure."
A spokesman for Network Rail said: "Following the coroner's recommendation for the Mexico footpath crossing to close, we requested an emergency closure and are pleased that this will be implemented.
"Network Rail is committed to improving safety at level crossings and closure is always our preferred option. We would like to make this closure permanent as soon as possible."
The petition is the second associated with the crossing after one was started last year by Mrs Nicholls' granddaughter Jodie Farmer to close it.
Network Rail has closed 600 rail crossings since 2009.
Comments
by The Rhythm Balladeer
Thursday, December 27 2012, 4:20PM
“In the interests of publics safety any Long Rock resident who wants to walk to Marazion will have to A) head towards Penzance and endure the level crossing or B) walk along an extremely pedestrian challenging road fraught with danger in the form of no footpath beyond Shiver Me Timbers and culminating in a death defying road junction by the railway bridge near The Station House pub. I'm sure the deceased grandmother will be turning in her grave in the knowledge that her death on the crossing she regularly enjoyed the benefits of has now initiated a kneejerk reaction resulting in a more dangerous walk from Long Rock to Marazion not to mention the disruption of routine crossings enjoyed by local dog owners and cyclists alike. The Long Rock village store has only just reopened only to be met with what must be a hammerblow to forthcoming summertime passing trade and beach enthusiasts who will quite likely make alternative arrangements for liquid and chilled refreshment on the beach.
How many roads do we drive down that have been the scene of an unfortunate accident involving a senior citizen yet haven't been closed down to traffic as a result? There are two sensible options that spring to mind. 1) in this age of amazing technology we could have an automated locking device on the gates with traffic lighting warning that triggers at almost the same time as the nearby level crossing or 2} a footbridge similar to the one that serves Eastern Green residents adjacent to their controlled pedestrian crossing.
please let's have that beach access sorted out asap”
by PAIGNTOND
Sunday, December 23 2012, 7:17PM
“I hope the crossing gets re-opened, it is such as shame for the locals and holiday makers. We visit Cornwall a lot on holiday and use that crossing a lot. As long as people are sensible, we always take care when using the crossing, always stop, look both ways, listen out, etc and would of thought trains would be travelling relatively slow as the crossing is not very far from Penzance station. We often stay at Marazion and use the coastal path to walk to Long Rock as safer that walking the road way as there is not a pavement in some places, we use it to for instance visit the Mexico Inn for lunch or a pint, and most of the time to get the bus to St Ives. Its such a shame these days that health and safety are closing far to many of these crossing and not thinking about the locals (and holiday makers) who use them. As long as there are adequent signs in place and people are sensible they should be kept open.”
by Horsewagled
Friday, December 21 2012, 8:26AM
“Today U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that for normal drivers without sucky brakes and no steering the fatality rate for non idiot train drivers was 1 person killed per 917,431,119 vehicle miles traveled. But the kill rate for trains with sucky brakes and no steering
...Amtrak trains would kill 2,983 people in the same 917,431,119 miles traveled.
...BNSF Amtrak trains would kill 679 people in the same 917,431,119 vehicle miles traveled.
...CSX trains would kill 1,354 people in the same 917,431,119 vehicle miles traveled.
...Norfolk Southern trains would kill 674 people in the same 917,431,119 vehicle miles traveled.
...Union Pacific trains would kill 755 people in the same 917,431,119 vehicle miles traveled.
Secretary Ray LaHood also said he was covering the railroads mass trail of death and destruction.
http://tinyurl.com/3hcb39b
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood """ with 1.09 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled"""
one death in 917,431,119 miles traveled
++++++++++++++++++
2010
1.03 - Overview Charts By Railroad
CSX---78.6 million total train miles
116 deaths
1 death every every 677,586 miles traveled
CSX in 917,431,119 train miles has 1354 deaths.
Amtrak ---40.6 million total train miles
132 deaths
1 death per 307,575 miles traveled
Amtrak in 917,431,119 train miles has 2983 deaths.
BNSF---169 million total train miles
125 deaths
1 death per 1,352,000 miles traveled
BNSF in 917,431,119 train miles has 679 deaths.
Norfolk Southern ---91.1 million total train miles.
67 deaths
1 death per 1,359,701 train miles traveled
Norfolk Southern in 917,431,119 train miles has 674 deaths.
Union Pacific --- 160.3 million train miles
113 deaths
1 death per 1,214,394 train miles traveled
Union Pacific in 917,431,119 train miles has 755 deaths.”