'Danger to kids' barrier is fixed

11:29am Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News

The barrier at Grays station The barrier at Grays station

BROKEN barriers at the Grays railway station level crossing have been repaired after concerns were raised that they posed a risk to small children.

The gates, which link the north of the town with the south across the busy railway line, had large holes in them which it was feared were big enough for children to go through should they wish to dart across the track before a train approached.

Resident Andy Reynolds, of Blackshots, Grays, who alerted the Gazette to the hazard, said: “I’m worried that children can get through these gates. “They seem to be broken quite often. They’ve been like it for a couple of years.

“I raised it with the station staff and they said they are waiting for Network Rail to come out and fix it.”

Network Rail said the gates had been broken by vandals, but were fixed last Monday.

A spokesman said: “This sort of vandalism is really frustrating and repairs have been done.

“The crossing is a visual and physical barrier to warn pedestrians of approaching trains, but just as with crossings on busy roads, anyone waiting with small children should keep them close.

“As a safety measure, the signaller will check the crossing is clear before letting trains pass.”

Calls have been made in recent weeks by Grays Shopping Centre manager Keith Evans to scrap the crossing for a bridge that does not have so many steps.

The barriers could be down for as long as 11 minutes when the new London Gateway superport opens, with more trains coming through.

Comments(13)

Cvh says...
12:39pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Its about time a Tunnel was built under the tracks

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Thurrockbob says...
1:48pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Until tomorrow when they will be busted again.

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ThurrockAllMeLife says...
3:23pm Wed 13 Feb 13

The easy way is to extend the underpass from the shopping centre to come up in the park area beside the council offices

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ThurrockResident says...
6:33am Thu 14 Feb 13

The railway are at fault as barriers are often down for long periods when no trains are going through. People are tempted to vault the barriers or go through the gaps. The bridge going across is a death trap, especially in the snow and ice when they are not cleared.

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Cvh says...
7:24am Thu 14 Feb 13

And indeed they are bent out of shape
again today

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I-say-you-say says...
10:35am Thu 14 Feb 13

I agree that National Rail should repair these, however if vandals continue to damage them causing NR to keep repairing/replacing them it will simply end up costing the rail users more money as NR claim it back through price increases.

Yes the barriers are there for safety, but only idiots would risk climbing through/over when the barriers are down - damaged or not!

In regards to the risk of small children "darting through" - parents should ensure that when approaching anything dangerous like a rail crossing that they have full control of their children by either having them strapped in the pushchair or having a firm grip on them/carrying them so that this does not happen. Parents/carers cross small children over the roads almost every day, there's no barriers to stop them there...

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jb411 says...
12:01pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Sorry but who in their right mind would want to walk through an underpass in Grays in the day let alone at night? Network Rail should fix the barriers. Also, Network Rail have nothing to do with the price increases in fares it's C2C who have that pleasure.

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Freddy K says...
1:37pm Thu 14 Feb 13

As a regular commuter from Grays it does not matter if the barriers are down/broken or not, the amount of kids/adults that vault the barrier to get across the tracks is just crazy, also it would seem that once the lights and alarm starts that is a starters pistol to all those who want to try and beat the barriers closing.

As for ThurrockResidents comment regarding the bridge in the winter weather, I personally have not seen any evidence of this being a death trap and all through this snow etc it has been perfectly safe to cross.

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JuliaM says...
2:29pm Thu 14 Feb 13

I-say-you-say wrote:
I agree that National Rail should repair these, however if vandals continue to damage them causing NR to keep repairing/replacing them it will simply end up costing the rail users more money as NR claim it back through price increases. Yes the barriers are there for safety, but only idiots would risk climbing through/over when the barriers are down - damaged or not! In regards to the risk of small children "darting through" - parents should ensure that when approaching anything dangerous like a rail crossing that they have full control of their children by either having them strapped in the pushchair or having a firm grip on them/carrying them so that this does not happen. Parents/carers cross small children over the roads almost every day, there's no barriers to stop them there...
Oh, for the days of personal responsibility when everyone was supposed to behave sensibly and not shriek that 'The authorities should DO SOMETHING!!' whenever something went wrong...

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Dave_ says...
5:17pm Fri 15 Feb 13

I tend to agree with Julia, when are we going to start to realise that we all make choices and if it's a bad one, it's our fault and not for someone else to take the blame for our stupidity.
If in this instance you decide to ignore the fact that the barrier is down and go over or through it and get killed by a train it's your fault. Or as a parent you haven't got sufficient control of your children or haven't taught them that is dangerous and stupid, reconsider your parenting skills. The fact the barrier's broken is irrelevant.

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techguy2013 says...
6:11pm Fri 15 Feb 13

there are no excuses for stupidity parents get control of your kids any stupid people that want to decide to volt the barriers when closing should be made to go over the bridge as it is perfectly safe. it is just lazy people who are able to use the bridge making excuses not to. as for some parents who obviously need to do better parenting if those parents are not repaired to better those skills then they should not blame others for their own stupidity.

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ThurrockResident says...
6:24pm Fri 15 Feb 13

I really do not understand why Freddy K hasn't seen the narrow steps and bridge covered in snow and ice. I am certainly not going to risk that. I wonder why the people in the control box at Upminster often wait long periods (when there is no sign of a train), before reopening the barriers. Perhaps they go off for a cup of tea and forget they are still closed?
On several occasions I have seen considerable crowds build up on both sides of the barrier of people waiting to cross. I think the record wait for me was about 45 minutes when I was carrying heavy items and had no choice but to wait.

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A Dermot says...
8:51am Sat 16 Feb 13

I doubt that the burger munching obese offspring of the inhabitants of Grays could fit their chubby little bodies through this gap in the gate let alone haul their fat little torsos over the bridge.

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