Nottinghamshire County Council ward member for Farndon and Trent calling for change for Network Rail to replace crossing barriers at Newark Castle train station

A county councillor has called for a public meeting after yet more chaos was caused in Newark after railway crossing barrier were stuck down twice in a matter of days.

Sue Saddington, ward member for Farndon and Trent has been calling for change after the crossing barriers at Newark Castle train station were stuck in the down position for more than 90 minutes on two separate occasions.

Now Mrs Saddington is urging executives from Network Rail to hold a public meeting in Newark to allow residents to ask questions of the powers that be — or residents who have been held up for long periods by the malfunctioning barriers will be encouraged to email them and explain their frustrations themselves.

The latest incident occurred on Monday, July 10, which saw the barriers stuck down from 1.46pm until around 3.10pm, caused by a fault.

Previously, the barriers were also stuck down on June 30 for over an hour.

Sue said that she has been calling for the barriers to be replaced for over nine years, but experts at Network Rail have said that there is nothing wrong with the barriers.

Many residents and motorists in Newark have reported, she said, that the barriers frequently are stuck in the down position long after trains have passed, and also, there have been reports of the barriers being in the up position but the red warning lights still flashing.

“How there hasn’t been a death on the lines due to these barriers I have no idea,” she said, “They are truly dangerous and people missing hospital appointments, doctors appointments, are late picking their children up from school — I’ve even known people to miss flights because of this.

“And I’ve also seen ambulances and fire engines stuck there at the barriers — it’s absolutely unacceptable and Network Rail cannot say that there’s nothing wrong with them.”

Problems have also been frequently reported, Sue said, at Fiskerton and Morton, as well as Bleasby, Rolleston, and Staythorpe, which often means that residents cannot get out of these villages when the barriers are down.

Now, Sue is appealing to Network Rail to arrange and attend a public meeting in Newark so that the residents can ask questions regarding the barriers at Newark Castle, or she would appeal to residents to contact executives at the public body via email with their concerns.

“Something needs to be done,” Sue said, “We’re trying to encourage people to come into Newark, but people won’t want to if this keeps happening.

“Network Rail need to answer to the people of Newark because I’ve been told there’s nothing wrong with the barriers, but I don’t know how they can say that.”

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We welcome all feedback, and any such meeting invitation would be considered on its individual merit.”

It’s not just here in Nottinghamshire where level crossing faults regularly cause problems.

Spalding’s Winsover Road, Park Road, and Hawthorn Bank railway crossing barriers are frequently stuck in the down position and cause a bottleneck of traffic in the town.

Oakham’s level crossings frequently cause residents “daily suffering”, Rutland County Councillor Ray Payne said at a recent meeting, as the town’s two crossings at the top of High Street and Brooke Road were ‘probably closed now more in an average day than they are open’.