§ Sir B. Jannerasked the Minister of Transport (1) in view of the danger to the public, how many level crossings are not manned by railway staff on Sundays; and how many of these are main line railway crossings;
(2) in view of the need to secure the safety of the travelling public, what signs are erected on Sundays to indicate to drivers that a railway crossing is not manned by staff that day; what distance away these warnings are placed; and if he will now take the appropriate safety measures to ensure that all main line railway crossings are always manned by staff.
§ Mr. MarplesI am unable to say how many level crossings on British Railways and other railways in this country are not manned on Sundays. There are some 24,000 level crossings, of which the great majority are "occupation crossings" which are almost all on private roads and are not manned at all. Public level crossings are always manned except where special dispensation has been given. All public level crossings which are manned during the week are also manned on Sundays unless the line is closed on that day.
The situation of a normally manned crossing being unattended on a Sunday when the line is open can only arise at a few "occupation crossings" which are manned because of the heavy road traffic on week-days. At all crossings of this type the gates are required to be kept normally closed across the road, and there are notices to this effect. No signs are provided at such crossings to indicate that they are not manned on Sundays, but I will consider whether they should be provided.