02.06.20
Network Rail reminds walkers in Whitby to stay off railway
NR is warning people in Sleights about the dangers of trespassing on the railway following a series of incidents where walkers are using the railway to get to the other side of the River Esk.
Members of the public have been accessing a private road, where there is no public right of way, before reaching Thistle Grove Farm crossing. This is a private level crossing which is for authorised users only, who have received training on how to correctly use it.
People are putting their lives at risk by trespassing on the railway and using the crossing, then walking next to the track and over the railway bridge, which is known locally as Thistle Grove bridge. They are then intruding on another private level crossing, Eskdale Gate No.2, before they reach a public footpath to Eskdaleside.
Network Rail is reminding people that the upgraded railway bridge is not safe for members of the public to access. The developments carried out to the bridge last month are to help engineers when they maintain the railway and should be used by only qualified railway workers.
Those who attempt to use the bridge, as well as the private level crossings in the area, to get to the public footpath towards Eskdaleside are trespassing on the railway.
Dawn Sweeting, Community Safety Manager for Network Rail, said: “People who are illegally using the railway bridge, intentionally or not, as part of their walking route seem to be completely oblivious to the dangers that they are putting themselves or their loved ones in.
“The railway bridge is not a public footpath and it is not a shortcut over the River Esk between Thistle Grove and Eskdaleside. Those who use it are trespassing and there is no excuse.
“Trespassing on the railway is always dangerous and can have fatal or life changing consequences. You never know when the next train is coming, and everyone loses when you step on the tracks.”
Image: Network Rail