Railway Crossing Barriers

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31135, 11 August 1966, Page 16

Railway Crossing Barriers

Sir,—Yesterday I was commuting on the 4.35 p.m. Square-to-Fendalton bus. On approaching the Fendalton road railway crossing from the east, the driver stopped on the uphill approach, put the bus into first gear, looked both w’ays thoroughly, assured himself that the way was clear, and proceeded. Immediately the signal bells and lights started, while the barrier started to descend. The front wheels of the bus were between the rails when the barrier hit the roof, while the engine was then in sight after the train had negotiated the bend from Riccarton station. The driver reversed rapidly, realising the impossibility of completely clearing the crossing before the train arrived: fortunately the following traffic allowed for a quick reverse. The driver’s alertness and coolness surely prevented an accident which our Railways Department obviously believes could not possibly happen. Must an accident occur before our knowledgeable railway officials install equipment geared for our rare faster trains?—Yours, etc., August 10, 1966.

[Mr P. R. Climie, senior engineer in the signals division of the Railways Department at Christchurch, replies: “It appears that the bus driver may have done the wrong thing in stopping once he had started to cross. However the matter is being inquired into by the Christchurch Transport Board, and no doubt the board and the department will later confer.”]