Cambus 'cut off' as rail barrier gets stuck

Iain Robertson - Iain Robertson • Published 12 Nov 2008 12:30 0 Comments

RESIDENTS of Cambus were "cut off" last Tuesday morning when the level crossing gates across the only road into the village got stuck.

Motorists were trapped at the gates for more than an hour, with many drivers unable to make their way to work or to take their children to school.

Now local people want assurances that they won"t be trapped again - and have raised concerns over access in the event of an emergency in the village.

One of the trapped motorists, Martin Cook, told the Adver-tiser, 'I headed off to work at 7.30am and found six cars in front of me. When people started getting out of their cars, I realised something was wrong.

'The village of Cambus was stranded with no way in or out - what if there had been an emergency?'

The road blockage resulted in over an hour of delay for drivers trying to get to work - but they received no explanation as to what the problem was, or when it would be fixed.

Martin added, 'I was late for work and most of the drivers had to make phone calls to their work. My boss could not believe that we had no other way out.

'We eventually got on our way when the gates were forced up manually by rail workers.'

A spokesman from Network Rail said, 'It is believed to have been a technical fault, the exact nature of the fault we don"t yet know for certain, but we are investigating it and will continue to monitor the situation

'If a road closes in this way, though, our group will have someone on site to manually operate the gate, so there is no danger, it is just inconvenient.'

Local councillor George Matchett was disappointed to learn of the inconvenience encountered by motorists.

He said, 'It is the main access road, so to have it closed down, basically locking people in, is unacceptable, especially when there was no explanation.'

Asked about the potential implications if an emergency occurred when access is restricted in this way, Charlie Norman, team leader for roads with Clackmannanshire Council, said, 'I am aware that the police attended prior to Network Rail"s arrival and ensured that no unsafe crossing of the line was allowed.

'If there had been an emergency, the cycleway through to Smithfield Loan would have been opened to vehicular traffic to allow access for emergency services or egress to trapped motorists.

'This route is only available in emergencies. This route is suitably constructed to be able to take such traffic, if required.'

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This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 12 Nov 08

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