Fears over 'high risk' crossing after train crash death
BBCAn investigation is continuing into how a delivery vehicle and a train collided on a crossing, killing a van driver.
The incident happened off Martin Lane and Whitehouse Lane in Burscough, West Lancashire, on Saturday at about 15:00 GMT, when a train from Southport to Manchester collided with what is understood to be a supermarket delivery vehicle.
People living in the area have told the BBC that it was not uncommon for the gate on the crossing to be left open at times by people using it.
The claims have been put to Network Rail, which, while not able to comment on the claims, said it was involved in an investigation alongside British Transport Police and the Rail Accident Investigation Board.
The train was travelling towards Burscough town centre when the collision happened. A woman who was on board the train described seeing the van travelling along Martin Lane before it collided with the Northern train.
The crossing where the crash took place is not a full level crossing, but one operated by people as and when they use it.
It has lights and makes warning noises when the gate is not shut.
One man familiar with the area told the BBC that the gate was regularly left open.
He said from his experience the crossing was mainly used by locals and farmers, but that he was seeing more delivery drivers using it lately.
He added: "We really hope that there will be some sort of automated gate there that can only be opened by the public… the gate is always left open and we know that because we are often down there. I have flagged it to Network Rail."
The man said there had been a CCTV camera on the crossing for a number of years.
The crossing is classed as a "user-worked crossing with miniature stop lights" and has a risk rating of B4, which Network Rail categorises as having a "high individual risk" and a "very high collective risk".
A woman at a nearby business said "people who use it are aware… to open and close it", but said there were "so few people who used it".
But the man told us that there had been a notable increase in the number of delivery drivers in the area in recent years, and that the hedge running along Martin Lane was high and might not offer a clear view of trains coming down the track at all times.
Sophie Cassidy, 26, who was on the train with her two small children when the collision happened, said she had seen the vehicle approaching.
She and other passengers on the train were lifted down to safety by police, fire and paramedic crews about two hours after the crash.
She said: "I can't put into words how lucky we are to be alive. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it all."
More than 24 hours after the collision, the line remains closed and the train remains on the tracks while investigations are carried out.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "Following an incident at a level crossing in Burscough, the line between Wigan and Southport remains closed.
"Alongside Northern, we are supporting both the British Transport Police and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch with their investigations."
A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesman said: "Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what happened."
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