Network Rail is to start targeting groups such as cyclists and dog walkers in its rail crossing safety campaigns, switching the emphasis from blanket TV adverts to reaching those crossing users who are at higher risk.
Work with cyclists is under way, the dog walkers’ initiative starts on Wednesday and programmes aimed at farm workers and commercial vehicle drivers will follow.
The new approach by Network Rail depends on links between 100 level crossing managers, overseeing about 6,100 crossings, and specialist organisations such as Sustrans, for cycling, and the Dogs Trust charity.
The video accompanying the dog walker campaign shows a woman walking her dog, becoming distracted by a mobile phone call and losing control of the animal, which darts off through woodland to a pedestrian rail crossing.
Such is her relief at catching up with the errant pet she does not look or listen for a train which arrives at high speed. The short film ends with the surviving dog lying on the crossing near a single red glove.
In the 10 years to March 2014 there were 97 deaths, excluding suicides, at crossings. Of those killed, 68 were pedestrians, six of them using station crossings, and 23 were road vehicle users. Five passengers and a train driver died in the 2004 crash at Ufton Nervet, with an inquest three years later ruling that a car driver had taken his own life and theirs by deliberately parking on a level crossing.
In the five years up to March this year, there were five deaths of people who were with a dog at the time of an accident, as well as 181 cases where train drivers had to brake to avoid a collision with people and dogs.
Comparable figures for cyclists show four deaths and nearly 140 near-misses.
Landowners and farmers are being approached in advance of harvest season as increased numbers of workers, including migrants, are temporarily employed.
People could be easily distracted, using headphones or on their mobiles, and simply forget to stop, look and listen.
Kate Snowden, head of media campaigns at Network Rail, said TV campaigns were not really changing behaviour of at-risk groups. “It is not a blame game,” she said. “We don’t want to go on dealing with so many accidents. Every death on the railway is a personal tragedy for individuals and their families, but there is a knock-on effect for drivers and staff who deal with the incident and its aftermath.”
Network Rail had reduced the number of level crossings by 933 since 2009, but many of the rest were small footpath crossings with warning signs, said Snowden. “You still have trains coming through at really high speeds,” she said.
She recognised there was sometimes opposition to closing crossings. “It is about understanding the impact of that closure on that community, trying to find a solution that reduces risk, improves safety and keeps access for local people,” she said.
Snowden conceded the company had “done the easy bit” on closures and was now working with special interest groups to try to reduce risk further.
The Dogs Trust surveyed more than 450 owners last month. It found most acknowledged their pets did not come back when called, said they would go after their dog on to a crossing to try and rescue them when a train was coming, and admitted they did not know the locations of crossings when walking their dogs away from home.
Lynn Barber, the charity’s head of training and behaviour, said all owners should have their pets on a lead and under control near railway lines and crossings. “If your dog likes to chase wildlife, cars or bikes, or is very fearful, you should try to avoid walks that are near level crossings,” she said.
Chris Williams, a level crossing manager based in Worcester, said: “Hundreds of level crossings run through the countryside where it might feel like you’re in a very open area, but you can actually be very close to the railway with trains travelling through at over 100mph.”
