First, I’d like to thank Cllr Alex Balkan for his campaign and hard work on behalf of Egham residents regarding the disruption caused by level crossings. Following our discussions and my letter to Network Rail, I have received the following response regarding the continued disruption being caused by lengthy level crossing down times. Network Rail have acknowledged the impact this has had locally, and stated the following:
We know it’s important for us to manage the flow of trains and road traffic, striking a balance between keeping the railway service moving for passengers, while also keeping people moving on the local road network. Since the railway signalling upgrade and crossing upgrades on 2nd September, we have experienced poorer reliability of the signalling than we would have expected, with ten separate failures in different forms and of different severities. These have caused disruption to the timetable and we are sorry for this. When the timetable doesn’t operate as planned and trains are passing this stretch of line in a different sequence, this can cause extra barrier downtime.
The most significant of these events was on 12th September when a fault with the signalling system meant seven level crossings between Staines and Windsor failed and remained closed for several hours – we know this isn’t good enough and we’ve been working with the signalling manufacturer to understand the underlying cause behind the incident, and to prevent a similar issue arising in the future.
We also had two sets of weekend engineering work on the South West Mainline in September, which meant a significant number of trains were diverted via Chertsey and Egham – when more trains are using the line, the crossings are naturally closed for longer, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience this caused.
Having identified the causes of the issues, it is vital that work is now taken to address this. Network Rail are looking to the potential for improvement around the technical operation of the signalling and level crossing systems, so barriers can be kept up as much as possible. This includes looking at possible opportunities for the barriers to be raised between two trains, and whether it is possible to modify the point at which the system activates to reduce the time the barriers are closed. These must be fully assessed as safety will always be the paramount concern, and it is also essential that interactions between the 5 crossings in the area are taken into account.
I am pleased that Network Rail have already begun work on this, but we need to ensure resolving these issues remains a priority. I will be meeting with the team from Network Rail at their control centre to find out more about the technical operations of the level crossings in this area and their work to deliver these much needed improvements.
I have also written to South Western Railway regarding their role in ensuring a reliable service for rail passengers, and the impact delays have on the level crossings. I will continue to press for these improvements - please do continue to let me know of any further issues or concerns, and I will ensure these are highlighted as part of my ongoing discussions.
