Rail line deaths for year at record high
The number of deaths on the railways reached an all-time high of 332 last year. They include a man in his 20s who died after being struck by a train at Allscott, near Wellington, in November.
The increase in deaths comes despite a record-breaking eighth consecutive year without an accident that has caused a passenger fatality, according to the Rail Safety and Standards Board.
In the last 12 months there were 293 suspected suicides and 22 fatal injuries caused by trespassing on main line railways in Great Britain, the RSSB said. This is a rise from the 300 public fatalities from suicide and trespass recorded between 2013 and 2014.
The annual safety figures also show 10 members of the public, including two vehicle drivers, died in accidents at level crossings, and a further four died at stations last year. Two workers were fatally injured in road traffic accidents, and another in an incident at a train depot.
British Transport Police last month revealed that over the past three years, officers had dealt with 82 incidents at level crossings in the Shrewsbury sector, which includes Telford and the notorious crossing in Wem. Police were called to 17 incidents at the crossing in Wem, which has faced constant problems since it became automated in 2013.
They have been called to a further 65 incidents at other crossings in the Shrewsbury sector, ranging from careless driving and failure to obey road traffic signs, to reports of trespass and assault.
Police say they have also recorded 26 driving offences at crossings in the Shrewsbury sector during the same period – 20 of which were failure to obey road traffic signs and six were careless driving.
At Bridgeway Crossing, near Shrewsbury, a track worker was forced to leap for his life as an 85mph midnight train bore down on him in January last year. He was loading tools onto a welder's trolley, but escaped with minor injuries. A report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, said the accident occurred because the wrong line had been blocked.
RSSB's director of system safety, George Bearfield, said that nationally, suicide remained a challenge the rail industry took very seriously.
He added: "RSSB is part of a cross-industry National Suicide Prevention Group which has been set up to tackle the issue."
