| Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by hoover50 at 13:19, 16th March 2025 |     |
https://www.newvalleynews.co.uk/news/outstanding-member-of-the-community-dies-after-being-hit-by-a-train-inquest-report/
This was such a tragic death which could have been avoided.
Network Fail urgently need to fix the bridge AND improve safety at the rail crossing which has no warning lights or sirens despite having very limited visibility.
I often use this crossing and express trains from Paddington come hurtling round the corner at 100mph. Once you see a train you have only three seconds to cross over. Trains should sound their horn on approach to the crossing, but they don't always do so.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by ChrisB at 13:28, 16th March 2025 | |
Awful - but the ultimate result is that the crossing will be closed.
Is it a footbridge, or a road bridge that has the fault/s? And what is the problem that needs fixing?
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by grahame at 13:46, 16th March 2025 | |
https://www.newvalleynews.co.uk/news/outstanding-member-of-the-community-dies-after-being-hit-by-a-train-inquest-report/
This was such a tragic death which could have been avoided.
Network Fail urgently need to fix the bridge AND improve safety at the rail crossing which has no warning lights or sirens despite having very limited visibility.
I often use this crossing and express trains from Paddington come hurtling round the corner at 100mph. Once you see a train you have only three seconds to cross over. Trains should sound their horn on approach to the crossing, but they don't always do so.
This was such a tragic death which could have been avoided.
Network Fail urgently need to fix the bridge AND improve safety at the rail crossing which has no warning lights or sirens despite having very limited visibility.
I often use this crossing and express trains from Paddington come hurtling round the corner at 100mph. Once you see a train you have only three seconds to cross over. Trains should sound their horn on approach to the crossing, but they don't always do so.
Thank you for posting that. I'm adding quote from that article, which reported on a coroners's hearing so that we have recorded the context here too. As the court was adjourned to a later date, no conclusion has yet been reached.
Pewsey is in mourning after an 82-year-old pensioner and her pet dog were killed by an express train while walking across a public level crossing.
Outstanding member of the community’ Shirley Pope had been walking on the crossing because a nearby bridge she normally used 80 yards away in Pewsey, Wiltshire, was closed for urgent safety repairs.
A member of the public spotted her body after the train had sped by.
The bridge was shut last autumn, and the repair work had still not been carried out.
Locals have said the tragedy should never have occurred.
Top Wiltshire Councillor Jerry Kunkler stressed: ”This is a tragic accident. It is very upsetting. We have lost an outstanding member of our community.”
[snip]
British Transport Police said crime had been ruled out.
[snip]
An inquest at Salisbury, Wiltshire was told Shirley Pope 82 from Pewsey was walking across a public level crossing in Pewsey on February 26 [2025] when she was struck by a train.
A member of the public called the police after seeing her body.
She died at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries and was identified by finger prints.
Death was confirmed by paramedics at 1427 hours.
The inquest was adjourned to a date to be fixed.
Outstanding member of the community’ Shirley Pope had been walking on the crossing because a nearby bridge she normally used 80 yards away in Pewsey, Wiltshire, was closed for urgent safety repairs.
A member of the public spotted her body after the train had sped by.
The bridge was shut last autumn, and the repair work had still not been carried out.
Locals have said the tragedy should never have occurred.
Top Wiltshire Councillor Jerry Kunkler stressed: ”This is a tragic accident. It is very upsetting. We have lost an outstanding member of our community.”
[snip]
British Transport Police said crime had been ruled out.
[snip]
An inquest at Salisbury, Wiltshire was told Shirley Pope 82 from Pewsey was walking across a public level crossing in Pewsey on February 26 [2025] when she was struck by a train.
A member of the public called the police after seeing her body.
She died at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries and was identified by finger prints.
Death was confirmed by paramedics at 1427 hours.
The inquest was adjourned to a date to be fixed.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by hoover50 at 14:01, 16th March 2025 | |
Awful - but the ultimate result is that the crossing will be closed.
Is it a footbridge, or a road bridge that has the fault/s? And what is the problem that needs fixing?
Is it a footbridge, or a road bridge that has the fault/s? And what is the problem that needs fixing?
This recent video from Danny Kruger (the Member of Parliament for Pewsey) gives more context about the footbridge and rail crossing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAPxV1qvviI
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 15:15, 16th March 2025 | |
An image of the crossing itself - from New Valley News:
CfN.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 19:21, 16th March 2025 | |
Thank you for posting this very sad topic, hoover50.
I've simply expanded the heading, in the interest of clarity, for ease of future reference.
CfN.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by grahame at 19:57, 16th March 2025 | |
To help me get my head around this, I looked up that part of Pewsey on a map. It is to the east of the village, which is to the south, with a small cluster of houses located north of the railway only accessible via Hollybush Lane and that foot crossing.
The foot crossing is at the other end of that scattering of houses, hence no picture even in Danny Kruger's video showing the relationship.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by Mark A at 08:53, 17th March 2025 | |
Openstreetmap's useful for this. For one under railway ownership, it's a very singular footbridge.
It's also an instance of a formerly rural location that now has a lot of housing, with, perhaps, little thought to the burden on walking routes**. Looking on old OS mapping, the footbridge has been there from the off, but no ordnance survey mapping marks the descending spur to the road, despite that an old GSV image suggests that it's a built component of the set-up there.
Mark
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/51.344990/-1.762909
** Made me think of that foot crossing on the Westbury avoiding line too. Another that's found itself amid housing. And probably many other examples...
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by grahame at 09:05, 17th March 2025 | |
** Made me think of that foot crossing on the Westbury avoiding line too. Another that's found itself amid housing. And probably many other examples...
The Westbury avoider now has lights that warn you if a train is coming making a comparison with Pewsey (which I've seen only from the recent article photos and comments) and that crossing should be much safER. Whether it is "totaly safe" ... I leave open. I am aware of other deaths on crossings within memory at Bedwyn and between Westbury and Trowbridge
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by ChrisB at 09:22, 17th March 2025 | |
Openstreetmap's useful for this. For one under railway ownership, it's a very singular footbridge.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/51.344990/-1.762909
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/51.344990/-1.762909
But that shows it to be a rail over footway, rather than correctly as footway over rail
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by stuving at 10:34, 17th March 2025 | |
Openstreetmap's useful for this. For one under railway ownership, it's a very singular footbridge.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/51.344990/-1.762909
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/51.344990/-1.762909
But that shows it to be a rail over footway, rather than correctly as footway over rail
There is also a small wooden footbridge over the same lane (Hollybush Lane), 20 m from the railway. And oddly, it's owned by NR and got its "Railway Authority" plate to prove it. But I can't fathom what that, or any other footbridge, has to do with crossing the railway near here. A key piece of information is missing.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by grahame at 10:59, 17th March 2025 | |
A key piece of information is missing.
Yes - I do not believe we have the full story here; various things don't add up.
I am very gingerly speculating ... a lot of people walk around and to and from the village in Pewsey, and the typical route is along footpaths and over that wooden footbridge on Hollybush Lane before the dropping down to the lane itself and they go under the bridge on the lane. With the footbridge closed, they are left with the options of either a long walk around to then come up Hollybush lane from the main road to the south, or taking the alternative path / level crossing over the railway.
Block one route, and people will diversity to the next easiest - which is the pedestrian crossing; there remain other alternatives, but for people on foot they are more substantial diversions.
| Re: Sad death of Shirley Pope, 82, and her dog, hit by train on foot crossing at Pewsey, Feb 2025 Posted by Mark A at 11:26, 17th March 2025 | |
If you're using a foot crossing on foot, it's useful to consider if you're what the railway might call an 'Encumbered' pedestrian - for example, if you're carrying something, wheeling a bike, have a dog, carrying a canoe, accompanied by a child or have a pushchair (or both) and if you are, it's useful to know to risk-assess that aspect of things before proceeding.
(Photo is a footpath crossing at Coates on the approach to Sapperton)
Mark
https://postimg.cc/1VQGRjKs/f6b26b41
