Issue - meetings

The Committee received verbal presentations from three officers.

 

The Operations Manager’s presentation outlined:

       i.          The crossing barrier down time was being investigated as it was down 33 minutes in every hour. This was of concern so the issue had been raised at Group Director level.

     ii.          There were no quick fixes as different needs had to be balanced:

a.    Safe freight/rail traffic.

b.    Road, bike and pedestrian traffic.

   iii.          The crossing was operated by CCTV signal, which made it one of the safest types of crossing barriers.

 

The Route Level Crossing Manager’s presentation outlined:

       i.          Risk assessments had been undertaken on barriers and down times.

     ii.          Down times were influenced by throughput from Fen Road and Cambridge North.

   iii.          Options to mitigate crossing barrier down time were being investigated, including closing Fen Road (which was not desirable).

 

The British Transport Police Inspector’s presentation outlined:

       i.          Fen Road level crossing had been affected by anti-social behaviour such as trespassing.

     ii.          Asked residents to log issues with the police by calling 101 to build up data.

   iii.          People had lost confidence in response times due to delays when calls were passed from the Police to the British Transport Police. These were caused by complicated jurisdiction issues as it had to be clarified which was the most appropriate body to respond.

 

Members of the public made the following comments in response to the presentation:

       i.          Barrier down times led to anti-social behaviour as people sped across the road (vehicles, cycles and pedestrians) to compensate for delays.

     ii.          Asked for a cycle bridge over Fen Road to access Cambridge North Station.

 

In response to questions from members of the public the British Transport Police Inspector, Operations Manager and Route Level Crossing Manager said:

       i.          CCTV footage was available for signallers to watch to ensure the crossing was clear before a train comes through. Cameras did not display pictures on signallers’ screens until a train was near a barrier, as signallers had other duties to perform, and should not be distracted.

     ii.          If an incident occurred at a barrier, recorded CCTV could be reviewed. (This may not cover 24/7 period, just when barriers were down.) Signallers were based in the same building as the British Transport Police.

   iii.          CCTV at barriers was not positioned so it could also record (when operating) any incidents in Fen Road. The location of CCTV would be reviewed in future as part of overall network needs.

   iv.          The Operations Manager had been recruited in 2017 to ensure CCTV was monitored by signallers. There had been an incident before 2017 when CCTV had not been monitored, hence her being recruited to ensure panels were staffed at all times.

    v.          Crossing barrier down time was affected by the design of Cambridge North Station. The Operations Manager had submitted a business case in the last three weeks to amend the layout of Cambridge North Station. The issue was actively being raised with Network Rail at a senior level. Progress could be reported back to North Area Committee in future.

   vi.          Not all things were within the gift of Network Rail to control. The behaviour of train and vehicle drivers could affect barrier down time. Regular management meetings reviewed issues.

 vii.          There was no new technology to upgrade the crossing to reduce barrier down time. If issues could not be addressed, road closure was the next option to consider, other options were also being reviewed.

viii.          The Foxton crossing barrier was down longer than Fen Road.

   ix.          Re-iterated earlier plea that members of the public should report issues to the police. Resources were put into areas where issues were reported based on database statistics. The British Transport Police, Network Rail and Cambridgeshire Police aimed to work together in a more holistic approach in future.

    x.          A business case was required to install 24/7 CCTV at the Fen Road crossing (like Teversham). This would need to be evidence based built up from issues reported (by residents or witnesses). An automatic number plate recognition CCTV van was occasionally positioned in Fen Road.

   xi.          Would contact Greater Anglia to request pruning of trees that obscured signs for Cambridge North Station.

 

Councillor Manning said he was Chair of the Committee that considered Cambridge North Station:

       i.          The original County Council planning application for Cambridge North was taken over by Network Rail.

     ii.          A bridge over the crossing, amongst other ideas including integrating with the Chisholm Trail, were discussed as part of the project. Network Rail changed the borrowing mechanism that funded the station to use what is called RAB – Regulatory Asset Base – essentially where Network Rail borrows against the value of its own assets.  The issue with this was RAB money could only be spent on Network Rail owned land, so things that weren’t entirely on Network Rail land such as the bridge and links with the Chisholm Trail, could no longer be considered.

 

Further Councillor Manning said that:

 

   iii.          He has submitted a proposal to Govia Thameslink’s “Passenger Benefit Fund” to fund a feasibility study into a car, cycle and pedestrian access bridge over Fen Road and the Railway line, north of the current level crossing.

   iv.          In response to an audience question:  There was no (current) proposal to extend the guided busway across Ditton Meadows. This was a historic idea that had been discounted back in the 90s, when planning permission was given to two houses at the end of Cam Causeway.

 

The Route Level Crossing Manager asked for details from Councillor Manning so these could be passed onto senior Network Rail personnel to discuss.

 

In response to the above, and Councillor Smart’s concern that action should be taken before a fatality occurred on the Fen Road crossing, the Operations Manager said:

       i.          All speakers tonight had attended incidents where people had died.

     ii.          They attended committee tonight to hear issues and reassure delegates that processes were already in place to take action.

   iii.          The aim was to influence Senior Managers and Directors to replace Fen Road crossing with a better one. Also Greater Anglia who were responsible for Cambridge North.

 

A member of the public said a cycleway to Cambridge North Station would open soon. Councillor Bird said she had contacted the County Council to say a crossing was needed across Fen Road. The Highways Authority said speed limit was 20mph on Fen Road so a crossing was not needed. Councillor Bird thought this was an inappropriate response and would follow up.