Car and train in collision at Highlands level crossing

[iainp]

Anyone know more?

 

[snowball]

Here's the (presumable) site on GSV (seems to be the only LC in the area):

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.co.uk

 

[MadMac]

Delny. I think NR has aspirations to get rid of it?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Seemingly everyone o.k. Wonder if the affected train was possibly the 1400 northbound from Inverness or maybe the 1234 southbound from Wick? Obviously, nothing else seems to have run through the area after then.

 

[najaB]

Delny. I think NR has aspirations to get rid of it?

For around 16 trains a day there's no way it's getting a bridge, so I assume just it would just be closure without replacement?

 

[snowball]

For around 16 trains a day there's no way it's getting a bridge, so I assume just it would just be closure without replacement?

A search for Delny in the infratructure forum finds 3 posts, including #121 by Altnabreac in this thread from 2016:

Situation at Delny is complicated. Network Rail wants to close the crossing but residents are opposed and prefer for it to be upgraded to AOCL+B. However there is currently a speed reduction in place to mitigate the risk until a solution is agreed..

The other complication is proposed housing development in the area and a proposed upgrade to the road junction with the A9 both of which could increase road traffic and mean an AOCL+B wasn't suitable anymore. The best solution is almost certainly closure but when communities fight it every step of the way they can hardly complain about the subsequent delays.

Looking at the OS map, closure would mean that on the stretch between Invergordon and Milton, the only road link between the A9 and the parallel B817 coast road would be this narrow road at Kilmuir:

 

[najaB]

Looking at the OS map, closure would mean that on the stretch between Invergordon and Milton, the only road link between the A9 and the parallel B817 coast road would be this narrow road at Kilmuir

Thank for finding that post, though from the Street View it looks like the crossing has already been upgraded from a AOCL to a AOCL+B so is the proposal to close it or upgrade again to a AHB?

 

[Railsigns]

Thank for finding that post, though from the Street View it looks like the crossing has already been upgraded from a AOCL to a AOCL+B so is the proposal to close it or upgrade again to a AHB?

It was converted from an AOCL to an ABCL in September 2017. Complete closure was under consideration a year or two ago, but I'm unsure whether this is still the case.

 

[snowball]

It was converted from an AOCL to an ABCL in September 2017.

The Altnabreac post I quoted was from the year before that. My search found no recent posts.

 

[Davey B]

Here you go...





We did get a complimentary tea/coffee and a shortbread from the trolley. Fortunately, no injuries or derailment and the train staff/emergency workers all did a first-class job

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Wonder if the affected train was possibly the 1400 northbound from Inverness or maybe the 1234 southbound from Wick?

So, was it the 1400 northbound Inverness - Wick service?

 

[Davey B]

Yes, it was the 1400 Inverness to Wick

 

[snowball]

Found a news item from 2021 saying two teenagers were killed there in 2007:

Highland level crossing where teenagers died to be closed

The site of a fatal collision between a car and a train in Easter Ross is to be replaced by a road bridge.

www.bbc.co.uk

The car driver, another teenager, got five years for causing death by dangerous driving.

 

[najaB]

For around 16 trains a day there's no way it's getting a bridge, so I assume just it would just be closure without replacement?

Well cut off my legs and call me Stumpy, a bridge it is! Planning application can be found here: https://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=QGPAVPIHGZ100&activeTab=summary

 

[Gonzoiku]

Well cut off my legs and call me Stumpy, a bridge it is! Planning application can be found here: https://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=QGPAVPIHGZ100&activeTab=summary

They had better hurry up, as that PP will expire early next year!

GZ

Found a news item from 2021 saying two teenagers were killed there in 2007:

Highland level crossing where teenagers died to be closed

The site of a fatal collision between a car and a train in Easter Ross is to be replaced by a road bridge.

www.bbc.co.uk

The car driver, another teenager, got five years for causing death by dangerous driving.

A very sad case - the winter sun can be "very" low in the sky in Easter Ross.

Tain teenager gets five years for Highland crash which killed two friends

A teenager who caused the death of two friends when he crashed his car into a high-speed train was locked up for five years today.

www.heraldscotland.com

 

[al78]

"One of them was the accused's closest friend, whom he had known since nursery."
Mr Gray said it was possible that Fleming simply failed to see the flashing warning lights.
He told the court a number of concerns had been raised locally about the safety of the crossing and Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Stone even raised the issue in Parliament after the crash.
The lawyer told the court: "It would appear that on the day of this accident the sun was very low in the sky and was very low in the sky at the time of the accident.
"It would appear that where the lighting conditions are like that at the railway crossing problems have been or had been encountered in the past and drivers would find it difficult, if not impossible to see the flashing lights."
The court also heard Fleming had had a difficult childhood and was brought up by an older cousin after his mother died in 2004.
Mr Gray urged the judge to be lenient in passing sentence, adding: "Richard Fleming will never appear in court again."
Lord Brailsford said Fleming, who was assessed as posing a low risk of reoffending, had a previously unblemished record and character.
He added that there was "cogent and persuasive evidence" that there were problems with the level crossing where the accident happened.
That, he said, was a factor which allowed him to treat Fleming "more leniently than would normally be the situation for an offence of this gravity involving two deaths".

Had Fleming not pleaded guilty, he would have faced seven-and-a-half years behind bars.

The highlighted points are, logically, irrelevant. The question should be was the driver driving to an acceptable standard at the time of the collision? His past record has nothing to do with that. His difficult childhood has nothing to do with that, there are plenty of people who have or have had issues in their lives that don't drive carelessly or dangerously. Unfortunately it is another play on emotion to try and reduce consequences for actions which I hate, but it frequently works. If there were issues with the crossing that is a fair enough mittigating circumstance.

 

[snowball]

The highlighted points are, logically, irrelevant. The question should be was the driver driving to an acceptable standard at the time of the collision? His past record has nothing to do with that. His difficult childhood has nothing to do with that, there are plenty of people who have or have had issues in their lives that don't drive carelessly or dangerously. Unfortunately it is another play on emotion to try and reduce consequences for actions which I hate, but it frequently works. If there were issues with the crossing that is a fair enough mittigating circumstance.

This was probably part of the mitigation pleading to determine the sentence after the verdict has been arrived at.

 

[Towers]

Here you go...

View attachment 147231

View attachment 147232

We did get a complimentary tea/coffee and a shortbread from the trolley. Fortunately, no injuries or derailment and the train staff/emergency workers all did a first-class job

Fuel tank and battery boxes; lucky it only kissed it!

 

[3RDGEN]

Well cut off my legs and call me Stumpy, a bridge it is! Planning application can be found here: https://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=QGPAVPIHGZ100&activeTab=summary

Reported that NR have scrapped the planned bridge due to it now been costed at £12.9 million;

https://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk...ridge-plan-by-network-rail-not-a-surp-334567/ (link maybe behind a paywall)

Scrapping of a multimillion-pound plan to replace a deadly Easter Ross railway level crossing with a bridge is not a surprise, a local councillor believes.

Network Rail is understood to have axed long-running proposals which would have resulted in the permanent closure of the Delny level crossing and its replacement with a purpose-built bridge over the line.

In a letter sent out to various “stakeholders” in the area, and which the Journal has seen, Network Rail said the decision was made in the wake of ballooning construction costs that had sent the price tag soaring to £12.9 million.

“The initial option discussed was closure of the level crossing and construction of a road bridge. While this option was being explored the level crossing was upgraded to a half barrier crossing system,” the letter said. “Due to rising costs, we will not be progressing with the construction of the bridge and the upgraded crossing will remain open. The construction costs of the bridge and associated road infrastructure is £12.9 million, which is not affordable."

 

[najaB]

Can't say I'm surprised. It seemed a large expense for such a lightly-used line.

And if NR are going to spend £12M in the area then I'd much rather it be spent on the Lentran loop.