With the re-opening of the Cambrian rail line between Harlech and Pwllheli to engineering trains earlier this month, which is to be followed shortly by passenger services, NFU Cymru has used today’s Meirionnydd County Show to remind farmers of the dangers involved in rail line crossing.
Lewis Williams, Meirionnydd NFU Cymru County Chairman said, “Many will now be used to this line being inactive, so NFU Cymru would like to re-emphasise the risk involved in crossing the railway line at any point. There are a range of safety resources available from the rail industry and I would encourage any farmer with rail lines on their farm land to visit the Rail Life campaign website www.rail-life.co.uk and www.networkrail.co.uk/safety, which include safety education resources and information on safe use of level crossings.”
NFU Cymru is also encouraging its members to respond The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) consultation which is reviewing three key pieces of railway legislation. One of the proposals is for the removal of the prescriptive requirement to fence the railway.
The current legislation requires Network Rail, who is responsible for railway infrastructure, to prevent unauthorised access to the railway, for example by means of line side fencing. However, the ORR consider that the legislation duplicates duties already in place under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The intention is therefore that the safety need to fence the railway is part of Network Rail’s management of risk and that there is no longer any need to have the prescriptive duty to do so.
Mr Williams said, “Many farmers who have land crossed by a rail line, may be concerned that the proposals may lead to fewer, or lower quality, fences. This could place a greater burden on adjacent landowners or unreasonably restrict the use of their land.”
