A friend of mine struck by a train in Hampshire - Polidicks

[quote="The Daily Echo"]An investigation is underway today after a teenager was killed when hit by a train at a railway crossing in Hampshire. Paramedics and police rushed to the scene at Junction Road, Totton, shortly before 9pm last night. The 18-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. There were huge delays in the area following the incident, which involved a passenger train travelling from Banbury to Bournemouth. A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Our officers were called to the line close to Totton station, at 8.50pm on Monday, 10 February, after a report a person had been struck by a train. “Colleagues from Hampshire police and South Central Ambulance Service also attended the incident. “An 18-year-old man from Christchurch, Dorset, was pronounced dead at the scene. “The incident is not being treated as suspicious, but a file will be prepared for the coroner.”[/quote] [url="http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11782016.UPDATE__Man_dead_after_being_hit_by_train_in_Hampshire/"]Source here.[/url] I honestly don't know how to feel about this. I hadn't spoken to him- his name's Will- for quite a while, but we'd talked about meeting up in the summer holidays. I decided against it because I thought we'd probably end up meeting up another time. I just can't believe he's gone. He was a fantastic guy, he was training to be a Challenger 2 driver despite having only 1 kidney from birth and an artificial kneecap for a fair few years, and he never let anything get him down. He was a trooper and an amazing person. I'm going to miss him.

It doesn't clarify, but do you know if this occurred at a level crossing, a station, or just a portion or rail-line? The article doesn't paint much of a picture surrounding the circumstances. Sorry for your loss. :(

[QUOTE=Bradyns;47115472]It doesn't clarify, but do you know if this occurred at a level crossing, a station, or just a portion or rail-line? The article doesn't paint much of a picture surrounding the circumstances. Sorry for your loss. :([/QUOTE] It happened at a level crossing- one which people had already been saying closes too quickly with too little warning. Here's a photo (not of the scene, just the crossing): [img]http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/3530777.jpg?display=1&htype=0&type=mc2[/img]

[QUOTE=Jamsponge;47115480]It happened at a level crossing- one which people had already been saying closes too quickly with too little warning. Here's a photo (not of the scene, just the crossing): [img]http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/3530777.jpg?display=1&htype=0&type=mc2[/img][/QUOTE] Geez, those fences don't give you much of an opportunity to check for on-coming trains; so much of your visibility would be obscured until you're at the boom-gate..

[QUOTE=Bradyns;47115496]Geez, those fences don't give you much of an opportunity to check for on-coming trains; so much of your visibility would be obscured until you're at the boom-gate..[/QUOTE] From my knowledge, he would have been running. I expect he wanted to keep up his pace, or he might have tripped over- I guess we're never really going to know.

[QUOTE=Bradyns;47115496]Geez, those fences don't give you much of an opportunity to check for on-coming trains; so much of your visibility would be obscured until you're at the boom-gate..[/QUOTE] The whole point in those big flashy lights I assume you can see is to tell you the barriers are about to be closed and a train is aproaching.

But if the lights are flashing, it means stop straight away, not "look both ways to see if a train is coming then cross". So yeah, Bradyns, I dunno why you'd be checking for oncoming trains. If the lights are flashing, it means there is one coming so you stay back and wait. The lights go off a few minutes before the gates close, though, right?

[QUOTE=loopoo;47115526]But if the lights are flashing, it means stop straight away, not "look both ways to see if a train is coming then cross". So yeah, Bradyns, I dunno why you'd be checking for oncoming trains. If the lights are flashing, it means there is one coming so you stay back and wait. The lights go off a few minutes before the gates close, though, right?[/QUOTE] Not if people had been complaining about it closing too fast and with too little warning.

[QUOTE=Jamsponge;47115480]It happened at a level crossing- one which people had already been saying closes too quickly with too little warning. Here's a photo (not of the scene, just the crossing): [img]http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/3530777.jpg?display=1&htype=0&type=mc2[/img][/QUOTE] What's the point of closing the exit too? Isn't that dangerous?

[QUOTE=Rubs10;47115555]What's the point of closing the exit too? Isn't that dangerous?[/QUOTE] The road goes both ways...

[QUOTE=Grenadiac;47115550]Not if people had been complaining about it closing too fast and with too little warning.[/QUOTE] I don't see how it could close too quickly, though? Cause I've always been told to stop the minute those lights flash. I was driving once coming up to a rail crossing, and the lights went on just as I was about to cross. I stopped straight away cause you're not meant to go over whilst the lights are on, even if the train isn't near. It's hella dangerous. Like I really can't see a rail crossing thing closing too quickly, it's probably people not understanding how they work? [editline]10th February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Rubs10;47115555]What's the point of closing the exit too? Isn't that dangerous?[/QUOTE] The lights flash for a good minute or so before the barriers come down. You ain't meant to cross in the meantime, unless you wanna end up as a human pancake.

I'm sorry about your friend, but you should never risk chancing a level crossing when the lights are flashing and the gates are coming down - they're incredibly dangerous. The article also says the death is suspicious?

[QUOTE=Vasili;47115586]I'm sorry about your friend, but you should never risk chancing a level crossing when the lights are flashing and the gates are coming down - they're incredibly dangerous. The article also says the death is suspicious?[/QUOTE] Think you might want to give it a once-over: [quote]The incident is not being treated as suspicious,[/quote] [editline]10th February 2015[/editline] He shouldn't have chanced it, but apparently these signals only turn on 15 seconds before the gates shut. He would have likely been on foot- I don't know what led him to be in the path of the train, but I just hope that he didn't feel anything.

[QUOTE=Rubs10;47115555]What's the point of closing the exit too? Isn't that dangerous?[/QUOTE] There are a lot of crossings in the UK with only half length barriers and thats where most accidents occur as people try and go round them....

[QUOTE=Rubs10;47115555]What's the point of closing the exit too? Isn't that dangerous?[/QUOTE] the exit gates descend about 10secs after the entrance gates. at least they do at that particular crossing, i live less than a minute's drive away from where this happened.

[QUOTE=Complifused;47115568]The road goes both ways...[/QUOTE] ... our crossings look like this [img]http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/fast-moving-train-at-a-railroad-crossing-paul-edmondson.jpg[/img] See the difference? If you're on the track when the gate closes, you can still drive out.

[QUOTE=Rubs10;47115615]... our crossings look like this [img]http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/fast-moving-train-at-a-railroad-crossing-paul-edmondson.jpg[/img] See the difference? If you're on the track when the gate closes, you can still drive out.[/QUOTE] You shouldn't be on the tracks in the first place if you've seen the lights flashing which shows the barrier is about to be lowered

God damn it guys, there is no exit or entrance gates :v: Well there is but that depends which side of road you are coming to. Imagine if you are in left lane, and "entrance" gate closed but there is no "exit" gate. People coming towards you (Right lane) would be vulnerable and could easily stop on rail tracks. [editline]10th February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Rubs10;47115615]... our crossings look like this [t]http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/fast-moving-train-at-a-railroad-crossing-paul-edmondson.jpg[/t] See the difference? If you're on the track when the gate closes, you can still drive out.[/QUOTE] Not sure about UK (pretty sure it's close to same situation) but in Ireland: Most rail tracks that intersect with roads are on bridges and on hills when water is flowing under bridge (in most cases though, trains are going under bridges). Because of this - these crossings are very narrow, literally 2 cars can only fit side by side, so there isn't much maneuver available.

That's really strange, apparently 2 people got hit by trains yesterday on the line between London and Cambridge, and then another further up near Kings Lynn. Huge amount of delays.

[QUOTE=Complifused;47115627]You shouldn't be on the tracks in the first place if you've seen the lights flashing which shows the barrier is about to be lowered[/QUOTE] And yet people are, so again I'm asking, what's the point of having an exit gate on your side of the road?

[QUOTE=Jamsponge;47115593]but I just hope that he didn't feel anything.[/QUOTE] Don't worry mate, I hear getting hit by a speeding train is literally an instant death, no pain. So at the very least he didn't suffer, sorry for your loss though.

[QUOTE=Rubs10;47115667]And yet people are, so again I'm asking, what's the point of having an exit gate on your side of the road?[/QUOTE] Because you will get the muppet who thinks they will risk going around it, 2 barrier stops this.

[QUOTE=Complifused;47115713]Because you will get the muppet who thinks they will risk going around it, 2 barrier stops this.[/QUOTE] + there are pedestrians, very stupid pedestrians sometimes.

[QUOTE=Jamsponge;47115480]It happened at a level crossing- one which people had already been saying closes too quickly with too little warning. Here's a photo (not of the scene, just the crossing): [img]http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/resources/images/3530777.jpg?display=1&htype=0&type=mc2[/img][/QUOTE] Oh, [i]that[/i] level crossing. The main problem with it, and the reason it closes so quickly, is because most trains don't stop at Totton station, so you have trains going full line speed either side of it. It's also pretty much a blind corner on either side of the crossing on the rail side, so the driver would have absolutely no chance even if he was coming in to stop. (The one at Brockenhurst is also very similar, but that has a lot of grace time) For those who aren't local, [url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.9170049,-1.486232,192m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en]here's the crossing in question[/url]

A lot of you are talking about being able to drive out, but there's nothing in the article that specifies that he was actually in a vehicle. The wording "A person had been struck by a train" leads me to believe that he was on foot, but that's only implied.

On Google maps if you approach from the north you'd have to be right at the gates before you could look for oncoming trains. If he was running and decided to gamble... How long it takes between lights coming on and the gates coming down shouldn't matter, since the moment the lights go on you need to clear the tracks, no matter what the gates are doing. The lights are the warning, the gates are just obstacles meant to make it harder for you to drive into a train.

[QUOTE=GeneralSpecific;47115862]The wording "A person had been struck by a train" leads me to believe that he was on foot, but that's only implied.[/QUOTE] It was a pedestrian struck by a train, not a car. If it were a car it would have caused absolute chaos and destruction, especially on that section of line.

The only train tracks in my town haven't been commercially operated on in decades

I'm sorry for your loss.

[QUOTE=Rubs10;47115615]... our crossings look like this [img]http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/fast-moving-train-at-a-railroad-crossing-paul-edmondson.jpg[/img] See the difference? If you're on the track when the gate closes, you can still drive out.[/QUOTE] honestly, i went over a crossing like this once one morning, and the annual train had just gone by the gates went up, lights went off i started crossing and then the gates went back down hitting my car, sufficed to say i hit the gas, a train came through only about a minute later, but it still freaked me out. you'd think its a foolproof system but its built for reliability not inteligence, they don't really know if a train is comming until it trips its sensors, and only assumes the train is doing the posted speeds which they don't, someday we'll be able to upgrade these things to where they are connected together in a smarter fashion but we're not there