Letter to the Editor

Graham expresses his concern at the over-protection of rail travellers. He believes that simple warning lights are an adequate safeguard for passengers needing to cross the line.

Dear Ray,

I read with some alarm that there have been four near misses of trains hitting pedestrians at Downham Market railway station. What was not printed in The Lynn News was that some people were trying to form a pressure group to improve safety at the station. I am glad to see that network Rail resisted this and instead issued leaflets targeting the dangers.

Nowadays, every time that there is some accident or disaster, the answer id to introduce new safety guidelines or devices, some unnecessary if only common sense and vigilance were employed. In the Downham station case, there already exists what I would describe as perfectly adequate measures with the red and green lights being obvious as to when you should or should not cross the track. People use traffic-lighted crossings every day to cross the road and there are no complaints about them, and what is the difference between them and the station pedestrian lights? I think that network rail have reacted very sensibly and that it is up to the public to behave more responsibly and exercise the necessary care.

Yours sincerely,

Graham Forster