Council demands proof on Wem rail crossing safety
Officials in Wem have demanded proof that a new automated system to control its railway crossing from Cardiff is completely safe before it comes into use.
Councillors want to be assured tests carried out by Network Rail at the crossing at Soulton Road have been carried out successfully before the new system starts operating.
And they have pledged to take up the case with north Shropshire MP Owen Paterson if their fears are not allayed before the new system starts on October 13.
It comes after the town's Shropshire councillors and members of Wem Town Council and Wem Rural Parish Council met rail bosses in a behind-closed doors meeting to discuss the scheme last week.
Officials from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) met with representatives of the town and parish councils, but no one from Network Rail attended. Despite being sent written responses to questions they had raised with Network Rail, councillors are now pushing for a meeting with the firm which will run the new system.
Once the meeting has taken place councillors will host a public meeting to explain the changes.
Network Rail's announcement that it is replacing the current manual operation in the signal box at Wem level crossing with an automated system sparked fears from councillors that lives could be put at risk.
Councillors also say that due to the complex nature of the junction a signalman is needed to ensure the public's safety.
County councillor Chris Mellings said: "The only potential manual intervention will be from a control centre in Cardiff, and then only in an emergency."
Officials from Network Rail have previously assured people safety is regarded as paramount and it has tested the automated crossing system elsewhere.
