Wooden crossings used by pedestrians to cross railway lines in the Exeter area are among thousands to be investigated following the death of a 66-year-old woman.
The move has been ordered by a coroner at the inquest on art lecturer Teresa Mansell who was hit by a train as she crossed a rail track. Dr Karen Johnson, deputy assistant coroner for Surrey, ordered Network Rail to carry out the study of every crossing in the UK▸ within a month after Mrs Mansell was hit by a train after she slipped on a wooden crossing near her home in Staines last April. The inquest heard she could have got her foot stuck in a gap measuring about three inches.
Network Rail, responsible for crossings, is now looking at them all following the coroner's concerns.
Some of the local crossings are located along the Tarka▸ Line at Newton St Cyres. There is a wooden crossing near Carter Avenue, Exmouth, which is used by walkers to get to the Exe estuary across the Avocet▸ Line to Exeter. There are others at Powderham, Starcross, Stoke Canon and Exminster.
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: "All our crossings pass rigorous inspections by Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate and many are non-slip." However, HMRI▸ says crossings hold "the greatest potential for catastrophic risk on the railways."
For the full article, see
http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/news/Survey-safety-wooden-railway-crossings/article-462609-detail/article.html